DCATIONAL 
GUIDANCE 
FOR  GIRLS 


DICKSON 


VOCATIONAL    GUIDANCE 
FOR    GIRLS 


OTHER    VOCATIONAL 
GUIDANCE  BOOKS 

J.  ADAMS  PUFFER,  Editor 

VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 
—THE  TEACHER  AS  A 
COUNSELOR 

By  J.  Adams  Puffer 

A   VOCATIONAL  READER 
By  C.  Park  Pressey 

VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 
FOR  THE  PROFESSIONS 
By  Edwin  Tenney  Brewster 


"Vocational  guidance  seeks  the  largest  realiza- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  every  child  and  youth, 
measured  in  terms  of  worthy  service." 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


The  lessons  of  patriotism,  kindness,  and  industry  taught  by  the 
Camp  Fire  Girls'  organization  make  it  a  power  for  good 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 
FOR  GIRLS 


By 
MARGUERITE   STOCKMAN   DICKSON 

Author  of  "From  the  Old  World  to  the  New"  "A  Hundred  Years 

of  Warfare.    1689-1789,"  "Stories  of  Camp  and  Trail" 

"Pioneers  and  Patriots  in  American  History" 


RAND      McNALLY     &     COMPANY 

Chicago  New  York 


Copyright,  IQIQ,  by 
RAND  MCNALLY  &  COMPANY 


3DS- 


THE  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

A  Foreword ix 

PART  I.     PRESENT-DAY  IDEALS  OF  WOMANHOOD 

CHAPTER 

I.  WOMAN'S  PLACE  IN  SOCIETY 3 

II.  THE  IDEAL  HOME 18 

III.  ESTABLISHING  A  HOME        27 

IV.  RUNNING  THE  DOMESTIC  MACHINERY      ....  49 

PART  II.     GUIDING  GIRLS  TOWARD  THE  IDEAL 
V.  THE  EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES  INVOLVED       .      .      .75 

VI.  TRAINING  THE  LITTLE  CHILD 86 

VII.  TEACHING  THE  MECHANICS  OF  HOUSEKEEPING  .      .   102 

VIII.  THE  GIRL'S  INNER  LIFE 122 

IX.  THE  ADOLESCENT  GIRL 130 

X.  THE  GIRL'S  WORK 151 

XI.  THE   GIRL'S   WORK    (Continued}— CLASSIFICATION 

OF  OCCUPATIONS 163 

XII.  THE    GIRL'S    WORK    (Continued)— VOCATIONS    AS 

AFFECTING  HOMEMAKING    ....  .      .    194 

XIII.  THE  GIRL'S  WORK  (Continued)—  VOCATIONS  DETER- 

MINED BY  TRAINING ;     .     .  203 

XIV.  MARRIAGE 218 

Suggested  Readings 241 

The  Index 243 

vii 


4C8303 


A   LIST   OF   THE    PORTRAITS 

PAGE 

LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT 221 

RUTH  McENERY  STUART 223 

LOUISE  HOMER  AND  HER  FAMILY 225 

MARGARET  JUNKIN  PRESTON 227 

COLONEL  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT  WITH  MEMBERS  OF  THEIR 

FAMILY 229 

JULIA  WARD  HOWE  AND  HER  GRANDDAUGHTER       .       .231 

CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE 233 

ALICE  FREEMAN  PALMER         .       .  235 

AMELIA  E.  BARR 237 


vm 


A  FOREWORD 

Fortunate  are  we  to  have  from  the  pen  of  Mrs. 
Dickson  a  book  on  the  vocational  guidance  of  girls. 
Mrs.  Dickson  has  the  all-round  life  experiences  which  give 
her  the  kind  of  training  needed  for  a  broad  and  sympa- 
thetic approach  to  the  delicate,  intricate,  and  complex 
problems  of  woman's  life  in  the  swiftly  changing  social 
and  industrial  world. 

Mrs.  Dickson  was  a  teacher  for  seven  years  in  the 
grades  in  the  city  of  New  York.  She  then  became  the 
partner  of  a  superintendent  of  schools  in  the  business  of 
making  a  home.  In  these  early  homemaking  years  there 
came  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Dickson  a  series  of  historical 
books  for  the  grades  which  have  placed  her  among  the 
leading  educational  writers  of  the  country.  During  the 
long  sickness  of  her  husband  she  filled  for  a  while  two 
administrative  positions — homemaker  and  superintendent 
of  schools. 

Her  three  children  are  now  in  high  school  and  are 
beginning  to  plan  for  their  own  life  work.  With  the 
broad  training  of  homemaker,  wife,  mother,  teacher, 
writer,  and  administrator,  Mrs.  Dickson  has  the  combi- 
nation of  experiences  to  enable  her  to  introduce  teachers 
and  mothers  to  the  very  difficult  problems  of  planning 
wisely  big  life  careers  for  our  girls. 

The  book  is  so  plainly  and  guardedly  written  that  it 
can  also  be  used  as  a  textbook  for  the  girls  themselves  in 
connection  with  civic  and  vocational  courses.  The  only 
difficulty  with  the  book  for  a  text  is  that  it  is  so  attrac- 
tively written  on  such  vital  problems  that  the  student  will 
not  stop  reading  at  the  end  of  the  lesson. 

J.  ADAMS  PUFFER 
ix 


"Vocational  guidance  has  for  its  ideal  the 
granting  to  every  individual  of  the  chance  to  attain 
his  highest  efficiency  under  the  best  conditions  it 
is  humanly  possible  to  provide." 


PART  I 

PRESENT-DAY  IDEALS   OF 
WOMANHOOD 


"How  to  preserve  to  the  individual  his  right  to 
aspire,  to  make  of  himself  what  he  will,  and  at  the 
same  time  find  himself  early,  accurately,  and  with 
certainty,  is  the  problem  of  vocational  guidance" 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 
FOR   GIRLS 

CHAPTER  I 
WOMAN'S  PLACE  IN  SOCIETY 

ANY  scheme  of  education  must  be  built  upon  answers 
to  two  basic  questions:  first,  What  do  we  desire 
those  being  educated  to  become?  second,  How  shall  we 
proceed  to  make  them  into  that  which  we  desire  them 
to  be? 

In  our  answers  to  these  questions,  plans  for  education 
fall  naturally  into  two  great  divisions.  One  concerns 
itself  with  ideals;  the  other,  with  methods.  No  matter 
how  complex  plans  and  theories  may  become,  we  may 
always  reach  back  to  these  fundamental  ideas:  What 
do  we  want  to  make  ?  How  shall  we  make  it  ? 

Applying  this  principle  to  the  education  of  girls,  we 
ask,  first :  What  ought  girls  to  be  ?  And  with  this  simple 
question  we  are  plunged  immediately  into  a  vortex  of 
differing  opinions. 

Girls  ought  to  be — or  ought  to  be  in  the  way  of  becom- 
ing— whatever  the  women  of  the  next  generation  should 
be.  So  far  all  are  doubtless  agreed.  We  therefore  find 
ourselves  under  the  necessity  of  restating  the  question, 
making  it:  What  ought  women  to  be? 

Probably  never  in  the  world's  history  has  this  question 
occupied  so  large  a  place  in  thought  as  it  does  to-day. 
In  familiar  discussion,  in  the  press,  in  the  library,  on  the 
platform,  the  "woman  question"  is  an  all-absorbing 


4  /,  :      I  "caitional  Guidance  for  Girls 

topic.  Even  the  most  cursory  review  of  the  literature 
of  the  subject  leads  to  a  realization  of  its  importance.  It 
leads  also  into  the  very  heart  of  controversy. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  woman,  in  our  own  country  at 
least,  escapes  entirely  the  unrest  which  this  controversy 
has  brought.  Even  the  most  conservative  and  "old- 
fashioned"  of  women  know  that  their  daughters  are 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Suffrage  parade  in  Washington.     Women  will  parade  or  even 
fight  for  their  rights 

living  in  a  world  already  changed  from  the  days  of  their 
own  young  womanhood;  and  few  indeed  fail  to  see  that 
these  changes  are  but  forerunners  of  others  yet  to  come. 
They  know  little,  perhaps,  of  the  right  or  wrong  of 
woman's  industrial  position,  but  "woman  in  industry" 
is  all  about  them.  They  perhaps  have  never  heard  of 
Ellen  Key's  arraignment  of  existing  marriage  and  sex 
relations,  but  they  cannot  fail  to  see  unhappy  marriages 
in  their  own  circle.  They  may  care  little  about  the 
suffrage  question,  but  they  can  hardly  avoid  hearing 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  5 

echoes  of  strife  over  the  subject  of  " votes  for  women." 
And  however  much  or  little  women  are  personally  con- 
scious of  the  significance  of  these  questions,  the  questions 
are  nevertheless  of  vital  import  to  them  all. 

The  "uneasy  woman"  is  undeniably  with  us.  We 
may  account  for  her  presence  in  various  ways.  We  may 
prophesy  the  outcome  of  her  uneasiness  as  the  signs  seem 
to  us  to  point.  But  in  the  meantime — she  is  here! 

Naturally  both  radical  and  conservative  have  panaceas 
to  suggest.  The  radicals  would  have  us  believe  that  the 
question  of  woman's  status  in  the  world  requires  an 
upheaval  of  society  for  its  settlement.  Says  one,  the 
"man's  world"  must  be  transformed  into  a  human 
world,  with  no  baleful  insistence  on  the  femininity  of 
women.  It  is  the  human  qualities,  shared  by  both 
man  and  woman,  which  must  be  emphasized.  The  work 
of  the  world — with  the  single  exception  of  childbearing 
—  is  not  man's  work  nor  woman's  work,  but  the  work 
of  the  race.  Woman  must  be  liberated  from  the  over- 
emphasized feminine.  Let  women  live  and  work  as 
men  live  and  work,  with  as  little  attention  as  may  be  to 
the  accident  of  sex. 

Says  another,  it  is  the  ancient  and  dishonored  insti- 
tution of  marriage  which  must  feel  the  blow  of  the  icono- 
clast. Reform  marriage,  and  the  whole  woman  question 
will  adjust  itself. 

Says  still  another,  do  away  with  marriage.  "Celibacy 
is  the  aristocracy  of  the  future."  Let  the  woman  be  free 
forever  from  the  drudgery  of  family  life,  free  from  the 
slavery  of  the  marriage  relation,  free  to  "live,"  to  "work," 
to  have  a  "career."  Men  and  women  were  intended  to 
be  in  all  things  the  same,  except  for  the  slight  difference 
of  sex.  Let  us  throw  away  the  cramping  folly  of  the 
ages  and  let  woman  take  her  place  beside  man. 


6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Not  so,  replies  the  conservative.  In  just  so  far  as  mas- 
culine and  feminine  types  approach  each  other,  we  shall 
see  degeneracy.  Men  and  women  were  never  intended 
to  be  alike. 

Thus  we  might  go  on.  Without  the  radicals  there 
would  of  course  be  no  progress.  Without  the  conserva- 
tives our  social  fabric  would  scarcely  hold.  Between  the 
two.  extremes,  however,  in  this  as  in  all  things,  stands  the 
great  middle  class,  believing  and  urging  that  not  social 
upheaval,  but  better  understanding  of  existing  conditions, 
is  the  world  remedy  for  unrest ;  that  not  new  careers,  but 
better  adjustment  of  old  ones,  will  bring  peace;  that  not 
formal  political  power,  even  though  that  be  their  just 
due,  but  the  better  use  of  powers  that  women  have 
long  possessed,  is  most  needed  for  the  betterment  of 
mankind. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  this  book  to  enter  into  con- 
troversy with  either  radical  or  reactionary,  but  rather  to 
search  for  truth  which  may  be  used  for  adjusting  to  fuller 
advantage  the  relation  of  woman  to  society.  First  of  all 
must  be  recognized  the  fact  that  the  "woman  movement" 
deserves  the  thoughtful  attention  of  every  teacher  or 
other  social  worker,  and  indeed  of  every  thoughtful  man 
or  woman.  The  movement  can  no  longer  be  considered 
in  the  light  of  isolated  surface  outbreaks.  It  is  rather 
the  result  of  deep  industrial  and  social  undercurrents 
which  are  stirring  the  whole  world. 

In  our  study  of  the  modern  woman  movement,  which 
as  teachers  in  any  department  of  educational  work  we  are 
bound  to  make,  the  fact  is  immediately  impressed  upon 
us  that  home  life  has  undergone  marked  changes.  Con- 
ditions once  favorable  to  the  existence  of  the  home  as  a 
sustaining  economic  unit  are  no  longer  to  be  found.  New 
conditions  have  arisen,  compelling  the  home,  like  other 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  7 

permanent  institutions,  to  alter  its  mode  of  existence  in 
order  to  meet  them. 

Briefly  reviewing  the  causes  which  have  brought  about 
these  changes  in  home  life,  we  find,  first,  the  industrial >s-v/ 
revolution.  A  large  number  of  the  activities  once  carried  / 
on  in  the  home  have  removed  to  other  quarters.  In 
earlier  times  the  mother  of  a  family  served  as  cook, 
housemaid,  laundress,  spinner,  weaver,  seamstress,  dairy- 
maid, nurse,  and  general  caretaker.  The  father  was 
about  the  house,  at  work  in  the  field,  or  in  his  workshop 
close  at  hand.  The  children  grew  up  naturally  in  the 
midst  of  the  industries  which  provided  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  home,  and  for  which,  in  part,  the  home 
existed.  The  home,  in  those  days,  was  the  place  where 
work  was  done. 

With  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery  came 
an  entire  revolution  in  the  place  and  manner  of  work. 
The  father  of  the  family  has  been  forced  by  this  industrial 
change  to  follow  his  trade  from  the  home  workshop  to  the 
mechanically  equipped  factory.  One  by  one,  many  of 
the  housewife's  tasks  also  have  been  taken  from  the 
home.  To-day  the  processes  of  cloth  making  are  prac- 
tically unknown  outside  the  factory.  Knitting  has  become 
largely  a  machine  industry.  Ready-made  clothing  has 
largely  reduced  the  sewing  done  in  the  home.  In  the 
matter  of  food,  the  housekeeper  may,  if  she  chooses,  have 
a  large  part  of  her  work  performed  by  the  baker,  the 
canner,  and  the  delicatessen  shopkeeper.  Even  the  care 
of  her  children,  after  the  years  of  infancy,  has  been 
partly  assumed  by  the  state. 

The  home,  as  a  place  where  work  is  done,  has  lost  a 
large  part  of  its  excuse  for  being.  Among  the  poorer 
classes,  women,  like  their  husbands,  being  obliged  to 
earn,  and  no  longer  able  to  do  so  in  their  homes,  have 

2 


s 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


followed  the  work  to  the  factory.     As  a  result  we  have 
many  thousands  of  them  away  from  their  homes  through 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Glove  making.     Women,  like  their  husbands,  have  followed 
work  to  the  factories 

long  days  of  toil.  Among  persons  of  larger  income, 
removal  of  the  home  industries  to  the  factory  has  resulted 
in  increased  leisure  for  the  woman — with  what  results 
we  shall  later  consider.  Practically  the  only  constructive 
work  left  which  the  woman  may  not  shift  if  she  will  to 
other  shoulders,  or  shirk  entirely,  is  the  bearing  of  chil- 
dren and,  to  at  least  some  degree,  their  care  in  early  years. 
The  interests  once  centered  in  the  home  are  now  scattered 
— the  father  goes  to  shop  or  office,  the  children  to  school, 
the  mother  either  to  work  outside  the  home  or  in  quest 
of  other  occupation  and  amusement  to  which  leisure 
drives  her. 

A  second  change  in  the  conditions  affecting  home  life 
is  found  in  the  increased  educational  aspirations  of 
women.  Once  the  accepted  and  frankly  anticipated 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  g 

career  for  a  woman  was  marriage  and  the  making  of  a 
home.  Her  education  was  centered  upon  this  end. 
To-day  all  this  is  changed.  A  girl  claims,  and  is  quite 
free  to  obtain,  an  education  in  all  points  like  her  brother's, 
and  the  career  she  plans  and  prepares  for  may  be  almost 
anything  he  contemplates.  She  may,  or  may  not,  enter 
upon  the  career  for  which  she  prepares.  Marriage  may — 
often  does — interfere  with  the  career,  although  nearly  as 
often  the  career  seems  to  interfere  with  marriage.  Under 
the  new  alignment  of  ideals,  there  is  less  interest  shown  in 


Copyright  by  Keystone  View  Co. 

Employees  leaving  the  Elgin  Watch  Company  factory.    Thousands 

of  women  are  away  from  their  homes  through 

long  days  of  toil 

homemaking  and  more  in  "the  world's  work,"  with  a 

decided  feeling  that  the  two  are  entirely  incompatible. 

The  girl,  educated  to  earn  her  living  in  the  market  of 

the  world,  no  longer  marries  simply  because  no  other 


10 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


career  is  open  to  her;  when  she  does  marry,  she  is  less 
likely  than  formerly,  statistics  tell  us,  to  have  children 


A  typical  tenement  house.     Congestion  means  discomfort  within 

the  home  and  decreasing  possibility  for  satisfying 

there  either  material  or  social  needs 

—  the  only  remaining  work  which,  in  these  days,  defi- 
nitely requires  a  home.  Marriage  and  homemaking,  there- 
fore, are  no  longer  inseparably  connected  in  the  woman's 
mind.  Girls  are  willing  to  undertake  matrimony,  but 
often  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  their  "careers " 
are  not  to  be  interfered  with.  To  them,  then,  marriage 
becomes  more  and  more  an  incident  in  life  rather  than 
a  life  work. 

A  third  disintegrating  influence  as  affecting  home  life 
is  the  great  increase  of  city  homes.  Urban  conditions  are 
almost  without  exception  detrimental  to  home  life.  Con- 
gestion means  discomfort  within  the  home  and  decreasing 
possibility  for  satisfying  there  either  material  or  social 
needs;  while  on  every  hand  are  increasing  possibilities  for 


Woman's  Place  in  Society 


ii 


satisfying  these  needs  outside  the  home.  Family  life 
under  such  conditions  often  lacks,  to  an  alarming  degree, 
the  quality  of  solidarity  which  makes  the  dwelling  place 
a  home.  No  longer  the  place  where  work  is  done,  no 
longer  the  place  where  common  interests  are  shared,  the 
home  becomes  only  "the  place  where  I  eat  and  sleep," 
or  perhaps  merely  "where  I  sleep."  The  great  increase 
of  urban  life  during  the  last  half  century  is  thus  a  very 
real  menace,  and,  since  the  agricultural  communities 
constantly  feed  the  towns,  the  menace  concerns  the 
country-  as  well  as  the  city-dweller. 

Believing  that  for  the  good  of  coming  generations  the 
true  home  spirit  must  be  saved,  we  shall  do  well  to  admit 
at  once  that  the  old-time  home  was  an  institution  suited 


In  the  cities  there  are  increasing  opportunities  for  satisfying 
material  and  social  needs  outside  the  home 

to  its  own  day,  but  that  we  cannot  now  call  it  back  to 
being.  Nor  would  we  wish  to  do  so.  There  is  no  pos- 
sible reason  for  wishing  our  women  to  spin,  weave,  knit, 


1 2  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

bake,  brew,  preserve,  clean,  if  the  products  she  formerly 
made  can  be  produced  more  cheaply  and  more  efficiently 
outside  the  home. 

There  is  danger,  however,  of  generalizing  too  soon  in 
regard  to  these  industries.  There  is  little  doubt  that  in 
some  directions,  at  least,  the  factory  method  has  not  yet 
brought  really  satisfactory  results.  How  many  women 
can  give  you  reasons  why  they  believe  that  it  no  longer 
"pays"  to  do  this  or  that  at  home  as  they  once  did?  Do 
the  factories  always  turn  out  as  good  a  product  as  the 
housekeeper?  If  they  do,  does  the  housekeeper  obtain 
that  product  with  as  little  expenditure  as  when  she  made 
it?  If  she  spends  more,  can  she  show  that  the  leisure 
she  has  thus  bought  has  been  a  wise  purchase?  Is  she 
justified  in  accepting  vague  generalizations  to  the  effect 
that  it  is  better  economy  to  buy  than  to  make,  or  should 
she  test  for  herself,  checking  up  her  individual  conditions< 
and  results? 

The  fact  is  that  the  pendulum  has  swung  away  from' 
the  "homemade"  article,  and  most  of  us  have  not  taken 
the  trouble  to  investigate  whether  we  are  benefited  or 
harmed.  It  may  be  that  investigation  will  show  us  that 
the  pendulum  has  swung  too  far,  and  that,  in  spite  of 
factories  mechanically  equipped  to  serve  us,  some  work 
may  be  done  much  more  advantageously  at  home.  It  is 
even  possible,  and  in  some  lines  of  work  we  know  that 
it  is  a  fact,  that  homes  may  be  mechanically  equipped 
at  very  little  cost  to  rival  and  even  to  outclass  the 
factory  in  producing  certain  kinds  of  products  for  home 
consumption. 

Spinning  weaving,  and  knitting  are  doubtless  best  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  factory  worker.  But,  under  present 
conditions,  buying  ready  made  all  the  garments  needed 
for  a  family  may  be  an  expensive  and  unsatisfactory 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  13 

method  if  the  elements  of  worth,  wear,  finish,  and  indi- 
viduality are  worthy  of  consideration,  just  as  buying 
practically  all  foodstuffs  "ready  made"  presents  a  com- 
plex and  disturbing  problem  to  the  fastidious  and  consci- 
entious housewife.  There  is  at  least  a  possibility  that  it 
would  be  as  well  for  the  home  of  to-day  to  retain  or 
resume,  systematize,  and  perfect  some  of  the  industries 


Copyright  by  Keystone  View  Co. 

Linen-mill  workers.     Spinning  and  weaving,  whether  of  cotton, 

linen,  silk,  or  wool,  are  more  satisfactorily  done  by 

factory  workers  than  in  the  home 

that  are  slipping  or  have  already  slipped  from  its  grasp. 
It  is  possible  to  reduce  some  processes  to  a  too  purely 
mechanical  basis. 


14  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

A  woman  lived  in  our  town  who  wasn't  very  wise. 
She  had  a  reputation  for  making  homemade  pies. 
And  when  she  found  her  pies  would  sell,  with  all  her 

might  and  main 
She  opened  up  a  factory,  and  spoiled  it  all  again. 

Nonsense?  Yes — but  with  a  strong  element  of  sense, 
nevertheless. 

Entirely  aside,  however,  from  the  industrial  status  of 
the  home,  unless  we  are  to  see  a  practical  cessation  of 
childbearing  and  rearing,  homes  must  apparently  con- 
tinue to  exist.  No  one  has  yet  found  a  substitute  place 
for  this  particular  industry.  It  is  a  commonly  accepted 
fact  that  young  children  do  better,  both  mentally  and 
physically,  in  even  rather  poor  homes  than  in  a  perfectly 
planned  and  conducted  institution.  And  we  need  go  no 
farther  than  this  in  seeking  a  sufficient  reason  for  saving 
the  home.  This  one  is  enough  to  enlist  our  best  service 
in  aid  of  homemaking  and  home  support. 

From  earliest  ages  woman  has  been  the  homemaker. 
No  plan  for  the  preservation  of  the  home  or  for  its  evolu- 
tion into  a  satisfactory  social  factor  can  fail  to  recognize 
her  vital  and  necessary  connection  with  the  problem. 
Therefore  in  answer  to  the  question  "What  ought  woman 
to  be?"  we  say  boldly,  "A  homemaker."  Reduced  to 
simplest  terms,  the  conditions  are  these:  if  homes  are  to 
be  made  more  serviceable  tools  for  social  betterment, 
women  must  make  them  what  they  ought  to  be.  Con- 
sequently homemaking  must  continue  to  be  woman's 
business — the  business  of  woman,  if  you  like  —  a  con- 
siderable, recognized,  and  respected  part  of  her  "business 
of  being  a  woman."  Nor  may  we  overlook  the  fact  that 
it  is  only  in  this  work  of  making  homes  and  rearing  off- 
spring that  either  men  or  women  reach  their  highest 
development.  Motherhood  and  fatherhood  are  educative 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  15 

processes,  greater  and  more  vital  than  the  artificial 
training  that  we  call  education.  In  teaching  their 
children,  even  in  merely  living  with  their  children,  parents 
are  themselves  trained  to  lead  fuller  lives. 

"  The  central  fact  of  the  woman's  life  —  Nature's  reason 
for  her — is  the  child,  his  bearing  and  rearing.  There  is 
no  escape  from  the  divine  order  that  her  life  must  be 
built  around  this  constraint,  duty,  or  privilege,  as  she 
may  please  to  consider  it." 1  It  is  the  fashion  among  some 
women  to  assume  that  it  is  time  all  this  were  changed, 
and  that  therefore  it  will  be  changed.  They  look  forward 
to  seeing  womankind  released  from  this  "constraint,  duty, 
or  privilege,"  and  yet  see  in  their  prophetic  vision  the 
race  moving  on  to  a  future  of  achievement.  The  fact, 
however,  ignore  it  as  we  may,  cannot  be  gainsaid:  no 
man-made  or  woman-made  "emancipation"  will  change 
nature's  law. 

It  was  well  that  after  centuries  of  repression  and  sub- 
jection woman  sought  emancipation.  She  needed  it. 
But  the  wildest  flight  of  fancy  cannot  long  conceal  the 
ultimate  fact.  Woman  is  the  mother  of  the  race.  "The 
female  not  only  typifies  the  race,  but,  metaphor  aside,  she 
is  the  race."2  Emancipation  can  never  free  her  from 
this  destiny.  In  the  United  States,  where  woman  has 
the  largest  freedom  to  enter  the  industrial  world  and 
maintain  herself  in  entire  independence,  the  percentage 
of  those  who  marry  is  higher  than  in  the  countries  where 
woman  is  a  slave.  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  mature 
women  in  our  country  become  homemakers  for  a  certain 
period,  and  probably  over  90  per  cent  are  assistant 
homemakers  for  another  period  of  years  before  or  after 
marriage. 

1  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  The  Business  of  Being  a  Woman. 

2  Lester  F.  Ward,  Pure  Sociology. 


1 6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Any  vocational  counselor  who  fails  to  reckon  first  with 
the  homemaking  career  of  girls  is  therefore  blind  to  the 
facts  of  life.  All  education,  all  training,  must  be  con- 
sidered in  its  bearing  on  the  one  vocation,  homemaking. 
The  time  will  come  when  the  occupations  of  boys  and 
men  must  likewise  be  considered  in  relation  to  home- 
making,  but  that  problem  is  not  the  province  of  this 
book. 

Women  will  bear  and  rear  the  children  of  the  future, 
just  as  they  have  borne  and  reared  the  children  of  the 
past.  But  under  what  conditions — the  best  or  those  less 
worthy?  And  what  women  —  again,  the  best  or  those  less 
worthy?  Has  woman  been  freed  from  subjection,  from 
an  inferior  place  in  the  scheme  of  life,  only  to  become  so 
intoxicated  with  a  personal  freedom,  with  her  own  per- 
sonal ambition,  that  she  fails  to  see  what  emancipation 
really  means?  Will  she  be  contented  merely  to  imitate 
man  rather  than  to  work  out  a  destiny  of  her  own?  We 
think  not.  When  the  first  flush  of  freedom  has  passed, 
the  pendulum  will  turn  again  and  woman  will  find  a 
truer  place  than  she  knows  now  or  has  known. 

Two  obstacles  to  the  successful  pursuit  of  her  ultimate 
vocation  stand  prominently  before  the  young  woman  of 
to-day:  first,  the  instruction  of  the  times  has  imbued  her 
with  too  little  respect  for  her  calling;  second,  her  educa- 
tion teaches  her  how  to  do  almost  everything  except  how 
to  follow  this  calling  in  the  scientific  spirit  of  the  day. 
She  may  scorn  housework  as  drudgery,  but  no  voice  is 
raised  to  show  her  that  it  may  be  made  something  else. 
With  the  advent  of  vocational  guidance,  vocational 
training  of  necessity  follows  close  behind.  And  with 
vocational  training  must  come  a  proper  appreciation, 
among  the  other  businesses  of  life,  of  this  "business  of 
being  a  woman." 


Woman's  Place  in  Society  17 

Must  we  then  educate  the  girl  to  be  a  homemaker,  and 
keep  her  out  of  the  industrial  life  which  has  claimed  her 
so  swiftly  and  in  which  she  has  found  so  much  of  her 
emancipation?  No,  we  could  not,  if  we  would,  keep 
her  from  the  outside  life.  We  must  rather  recognize  her 
double  vocation  and,  difficult  though  it  seem,  must  edu- 
cate her  for  both  phases  of  her  "business."  She  will  be 
not  only  the  better  woman,  but  the  better  worker,  because 
of  the  very  breadth  of  her  vocational  horizon. 

Training  for  homemaking,  then,  must  go  hand  in  hand 
with  training  for  some  phase  of  industrial  life.  Voca- 
tional guides  must  consider  not  only  inclination  and 
temperament,  but  physical  condition  and  the  supply  and 
demand  of  the  industrial  world.  They  will  consider  the 
girl  not  merely  as  an  industrial  worker,  but  as  a  potential 
homemaker.  They  will,  therefore,  also  study  the  effect 
of  various  vocations  upon  homemaking  capabilities. 

How  then  shall  the  teaching  of  this  double  vocation  be 
approached?  How  shall  we,  as  teachers  of  girls,  make 
them  capable  of  becoming  homemakers?  How  shall  we 
make  them  see  that  homemaking  and  the  world's  work 
may  go  hand  in  hand,  so  that  they  will  desire  in  time  to 
turn  from  their  industrial  service  to  the  later  and  better 
destiny  of  making  a  home?  This  book  offers  its  contribu- 
tion toward  answering  these  questions. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  IDEAL  HOME 

r  I AHAT  we  may  understand,  and  to  some  extent 
A  formulate,  the  problem  which  we  would  have  girls 
trained  to  solve,  we  must  of  necessity  study  homes. 
What  must  girls  know  in  order  to  be  successful  home- 
makers  ? 

A  historical  survey  of  the  home  leads  us  to  the  con- 
clusion that  although  times  have  changed,  and  homes 
have  changed,  and  indeed  all  outward  conditions  have 
changed,  the  spiritual  ideal  of  home  is  no  different  from 
what  it  has  always  been.  The  home  is  the  seat  of  family 
life.  Its  one  object  is  the  making  of  healthy,  wise,  happy, 
satisfied,  useful,  and  efficient  people.  The  home  is  essen- 
tially a  spiritual  factory,  whether  or  not  it  is  to  remain  to 
any  degree  whatever  a  material  one.  "  Home  will  become 
an  atmosphere,  a  'condition  in  which,'  rather  than  'a 
place  where,'  "  says  Nearing  in  his  Woman  and  Social 
Progress.  "The  home  is  a  factory  to  make  citizenship 
in,"  writes  Mrs.  Bruere. 

But  although  this  spiritual  significance  of  home  has 
always  existed,  we  are  sometimes  inclined  to  overlook  the 
fact.  Because  conditions  have  changed,  and  because 
our  external  ideals  of  home  have  changed  and  are  still 
changing,  we  fail  to  see  that  the  foundation  of  home  life 
is  still  unchanged. 

"I  sometimes  think  that  many  wromen  don't  con- 
sciously know  why  they  are  running  their  homes,"  says 
Mrs.  Frederick,  author  of  The  New  Housekeeping.  We 
might  add  that  many  of  those  who  do  know,  or  think  they 

18 


The  Ideal  Home  19 

know,  are  struggling  to  attain  to  purely  trivial  or  funda- 
mentally wrong  ideals.  It  seems  wise,  then,  for  us  to 
face  at  the  outset  the  question  "What  is  the  ideal  home? " 


Copyright  by  Keystone  View  Co. 

An  attractive  living  room  in  which  there  is  that  atmosphere  of 
peace  so  conducive  to  a  happy  family  life 

Laying  aside  all  preconceived  notions,  and  remembering 
that  changes  are  coming  fast  in  these  days,  let  us  look  tor 
the  ideals  which  may  be  common  to  all  homes,  in  city 
or  country,  among  rich  or  poor. 

First  of  all,  the  home  must  be  comfortable,  and  its 
whole  atmosphere  must  be  that  of  peace.  In  no  other 
wav  can  the  tension  of  modern  life  be  overcome.  This 


20 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


implies  order  and  cleanliness,  beauty,  warmth,  light,  and 
air;  but  it  implies  far  more.     It  means  a  home  planned 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


A  well-arranged  kitchen  forms  an  important  part  of  the  smoothly 
running  mechanism  of  the  ideal  home 

for  the  people  who  will  occupy  it,  and  so  planned  that 
father's  needs,  and  mother's,  and  the  children's,  will  all 
be  met.  What  does  each  member  of  the  family  require 
of  the  house?  A  place  to  live  in.  And  that  means  far 
more  than  eating  and  sleeping  and  having  a  place  for 
one's  clothes.  There  must  be  not  only  a  place  for  every- 
thing, but  a  place  for  everybody  in  the  ideal  house.  The 
boys  who  wish  to  dabble  in  electricity,  the  girls  who  wish 
to  entertain  their  friends  in  their  own  way,  the  tired 
father  who  wishes  to  read  his  newspaper  "in  peace,"  the 
younger  children  who  want  to  pop  corn  or  blow  bubbles 
or  play  games,  all  must  be  planned  for.  There  will  be 
no  room  too  good  for  use,  and  no  furnishings  so  delicate 


The  Ideal  Home 


21 


that  mother  worries  over  family  contact  with  them. 
There  will  be  a  minimum  of  "keeping  up  appearances" 
and  a  maximum  of  comfort  and  cheer.  There  will  be 
little  formal  entertaining,  but  many  spontaneous  good 
times.  In  addition  to  being  comfortable,  the  ideal  home 
must  be  convenient.  There  will  be  places  for  things,  and 
every  appliance  for  making  work  easy. 

The  ideal  mother,  who  is  the  mainspring  of  the  smoothly 
running  mechanism  of  the  ideal  home,  will  be  scientifically 
trained  for  her  position.  Her  "domestic  science"  will  no 
longer  be  open  to 
the  criticism  that 
it  is  not  science  at 
all,  nor  will  she  feel 
that  her  business  is 
unworthy  of  scien- 
tific  treatment. 
Always  she  will 
keep  before  her  the 
object  of  her  work 
—to  make  of  her 
family,  including 
herself,  good,  hap- 
py, efficient  people. 
She  will  not  be 
overburdened  with 
housework,  for 
overworked  moth- 
ers have  neither 
time  nor  strength 
for  the  higher  as- 
pects of  their  work. 
She  will  know  how  to  feed  bodies,  but  also  how  to  develop 
souls.  She  will  clothe  her  children  hygienically,  but  she 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Contrast  this  old-fashioned  kitchen  with  the 
modern  one  shown  on  the  opposite  page 


22  T  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

will  teach  them  to  value  more 'the  more  important  vest- 
ments of  modesty  and  gentleness  and  courtesy.  She 
will  require  obedience,  but,  as  their  years  increase,  the 
requirement  will  be  less  and  less  obedience  to  authority 
and  more  and  more  obedience  to  a  right  spirit  within. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

The  wise  mother  will  teach  her  children  the  true  value  of  work  by 
making  them  wish  to  work  with  her 

She  will  work  for  her  children  and  will  make  them  wish 
to  work  with  her,  teaching  them  the  true  value  of  work 
and  sacrifice.  She  will  play  with  them,  for  their  pleasure 
and  development,  and  she  will  also  play,  in  her  own  way, 
for  her  own  rejuvenation  and  her  soul's  good.  She  will 
study  each  member  of  her  family  as  an  individual  prob- 
lem, and,  abandoning  forever  the  idea  of  pressing  any 
child's  soul  into  the  mold  that  she  might  choose,  will 
rather  strive  to  aid  its  growth  toward  its  natural  ideal. 
She  will  strive  to  hold  and  to  be  worthy  of  her  children's 
confidence,  that  they  may  turn  to  her  in  those  times  that 
try  their  souls.  But  she  will  always  respect  the  personal 
liberty  of  either  child  or  husband  to  live  his  own  life. 


The  Ideal  Home  23 

She  will  interest  herself  in  the  interests  of  husband  and 
children,  that  she  may  remain  a  vital  factor  in  their 
lives;  and  she  will  make  the  home  so  delightful  as  to 
reduce  to  a  minimum  the  scattering  influences  that  tend 
to  destroy  home  life.  She  will  weave  intangible  but 
indestructible  ties  of  affection,  holding  all  together  and 
to  herself.  She  will  keep  her  interest  in  the  outside  world, 
so  that  she  may  better  prepare  her  children  to  live  in  it 
and  may  resist  the  narrowing  influence  of  her  enforced 
temporary  withdrawal.  She  will  take  some  part  in  civic 
work  and  social  uplift,  and,  when  her  years  of  child  rearing 
are  ended,  in  the  leisure  of  middle  age  she  will  return  to 
the  less  circumscribed  life  of  her  youth,  bending  her 
matured  energies  to  the  world's  work. 

The  father  of  this  ideal  family  will  be  first  of  all  a 
man  happy  in  his  work.  The  plodding,  weary  slave  to 
distasteful  labor  can  be  ideal  neither  as  husband  nor  as 
father.  Overworked  fathers  are  quite  as  impossible  in 
our  scheme  as  overburdened  mothers.  In  ideal  condi- 
tions the  father  will  have  time,  strength,  and  willingness 
to  be  more  of  a  factor  in  the  home  life  than  he  sometimes 
is  at  the  present  time.  More  than  that,  his  early  educa- 
tion will  have  included  definite  preparation  for  home- 
making,  so  that  his  cooperation  will  be  intelligent  and 
therefore  helpful.  He  will  know  more  than  he  does  now 
about  the  cost  of  living  and  he  will  assist  in  making  a 
preliminary  division  of  the  year's  income  upon  an 
intelligent  basis.  He  will  recognize  the  necessity  for 
equipment  for  the  homemaking  business  and  will  con- 
tribute his  share  of  thought  and  labor  to  improving  the 
home  plant. 

He  will  be  a  companion  as  well  as  adviser  to  his  boys 
and  girls  and  will  retain  their  respect  and  love  by  his 
sympathetic  understanding  and  his  remembrance  of  the 

3 


24  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

boy's  point  of  view.  In  all  his"  dealings  with  his  children 
he  will  be  careful  that  interference  with  his  comfort  and 
convenience  or  the  wounding  of  his  pride  by  their  short- 
comings does  not  obscure  his  sense  of  justice.  He  will 
be  a  student  of  child  nature  and  will  keep  in  view  the 
ultimate  good  and  usefulness  of  his  child.  He  will  regard 
his  fatherhood  as  his  greatest  service  to  the  state. 

The  children  reared  by  this  ideal  father  and  mother  in 
their  ideal  home  will  grow  as  naturally  as  plants  in  a  well- 
cared-for  garden.  With  examples  of  courtesy  and  kind- 
ness, of  cheerful  work  and  health-producing  play,  ever 


Pals.     The  wise  father  will  be  companion  as  well  as  adviser 
to  his  children 

before  them  in  the  lives  of  their  parents,  they  may  be  led 
along  the  same  paths  to  similar  usefulness.  Their  edu- 
cational problems  will  be  met  by  the  combined  effort 


The  Ideal  Home  2  5 

of  teachers  and  parents,  and  natural  aptitude  as  well  as 
community  needs  will  dictate  the  choice  of  their  life 
work. 

That  this  ideal  family  is  far  removed  from  many 
families  of  our  acquaintance  merely  proves  the  necessity 
of  training  for  more  efficient  homemaking,  and  indeed 
for  a  better  conception  of  homemaking  ideals  and  prob- 
lems. If  we  are  to  teach  our  girls  and  our  boys  to  be 
homemakers,  we  must  consider  carefully  what  they  need 
to  know.  If  we  are  to  counteract  the  tendencies  of  the 
past  two  or  three  decades  away  from  homemaking  as  a 
vocation,  we  must  show  the  true  value  of  the  homemaker 
to  the  community,  and  the  opportunities  which  domestic 
life  presents  to  the  scientifically  trained  mind. 

Education  for  homemaking  necessarily  implies  teachers 
who  are  trained  for  homemaking  instruction ;  and  we  may 
pause  here  to  notice  that  no  homemaking  course  in  normal 
school  or  college  can  be  sufficient  to  give  the  teacher 
true  knowledge  of  ideal  homes.  She  must  have  seen  such 
homes,  or  those  which  approximate  the  ideal.  Perhaps 
she  has  grown  up  in  such  a  home.  More  probably  she  has 
not.  If  not,  it  must  then  necessarily  follow  that  the  lower 
have  been  the  ideals  in  the  home  where  the  teacher  had 
her  training,  the  more  she  should  see  of  other  homes,  and 
especially  of  good  homes.  Her  whole  outlook  may  be 
changed  by  such  contact;  and  with  her  outlook,  her 
teaching;  and  with  her  teaching,  her  influence. 

If  all  girls  grew  up  in  ideal  homes,  it  seems  probable 
that  homemaking  would  appeal  to  them  quite  naturally 
as  the  ultimate  vocation.  Indeed,  we  know  that  many 
girls  feel  this  natural  drawing,  in  spite  of  most  unlovely 
conditions  in  their  childhood  homes.  The  task  of  mother, 
teacher,  and  vocational  counselor  (who  may  be  either) 
in  this  matter  is  a  complicated  one.  Some  girls  are  not 


2  6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

fitted  by  nature  to  be  homemakers.  Some  may  with 
careful  training  overcome  inherent  defects  which  stand 
in  the  way  of  their  success.  Some  have  the  natural 
endowment,  but  have  their  eyes  fixed  on  other  careers. 
Some  have  unhappy  ideals  to  overcome.  The  fact, 
however,  confronts  us  that  at  some  time  in  their  lives  a 
very  large  majority  of  these  girls  will  be  homemakers. 
It  is  the  part  of  those  who  have  charge  of  them  in  their 
formative  years  to  do  two  things  for  them:  first,  to  train 
them  so  that  they  may  understand  the  tasks  of  the  home- 
maker  and  perform  them  creditably  if  they  are  called 
upon;  second,  to  teach  all  those  girls  who  seem  fitted  for 
this  high  vocation  to  desire  it,  and  to  choose  it  for  at  least 
part  of  their  mature  lives. 


CHAPTER  III 
ESTABLISHING  A  HOME 

CERTAIN  very  definite  attempts  are  being  made 
in  these  days  to  meet  the  evident  lack  of  home- 
making  knowledge  in  the  rising  generation.  And  since 
definiteness  of  plan  lends  power  to  accomplishment,  we 
cannot  do  better  than  to  analyze  as  carefully  as  possible 
the  various  lines  of  knowledge  required  by  the  prospective 
homemaker  in  entering  upon  her  life  work. 

What  are  the  problems  of  homemaking  ?  And  how  far 
can  we  provide  the  girl  with  the  necessary  equipment 
to  make  her  an  efficient  worker  in  her  chosen  vocation? 

Country  life  and  city  life  are  apparently  so  far  removed 
from  each  other  as  to  present  totally  different  problems 
to  the  homemaker  and  to  the  vocational  educator  of 
girls.  And  yet  underlying  the  successful  management 
of  both  urban  and  rural  homes  are  the  same  principles  of 
domestic  economy  and  of  social  efficiency.  The  principles 
are  there,  however  widely  their  application  may  differ. 
While  we  may  wisely  train  country  girls  for  country  living, 
and  city  girls  to  face  the  problems  of  urban  life,  we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  country  girls  often  become 
homemakers  in  the  city  and  that  city  girls  are  often  found 
establishing  homes  in  the  country.  Nor  should  we  over- 
look the  truth  that  some  study  of  home  conditions  in 
other  than  familiar  surroundings  will  broaden  the  girl's 
knowledge  and  fit  her  in  later  life  to  make  conditions 
subservient  to  that  knowledge. 

Both  rural  and  urban  homemakers  must  be  taught  to 
appreciate  their  advantages  and  to  make  the  most  of 

27 


28  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

them.  They  must  also  learn  to  face  their  disadvantages 
and  to  work  intelligently  toward  overcoming  them. 

The  country  homemaker  has  no  immediate  need  of 
studying  the  problems  of  congestion  in  population  which 
menace  the  millions  of  city-dwellers.  The  country  home 
has  plenty  of  room  and  an  abundance  of  pure  air.  Yet 
it  is  often  true  that  country  homes  are  poorly  ventilated 
and  that  much  avoidable  sickness  results  from  this  fact. 
The  country  home  is  often  set  in  the  midst  of  great 
natural  beauty,  yet  misses  its  opportunity  to  satisfy  the 
eye  in  an  artistic  sense.  Its  very  isolation  is  sometimes 
a  cause  of  the  lack  of  attention  to  its  appearance  to  the 
passerby. 

The  farmer's  wife  has  an  advantage  in  the  matter  of 
fresh  vegetables,  eggs,  and  poultry,  but  the  city  house- 
keeper has  the  near-by  market  and  finds  the  question  of 
sanitation,  the  preservation  of  food,  and  the  disposal  of 
waste  far  easier  of  solution. 

The  city  housewife  is  often  troubled  in  regard  to  the 
source  of  her  milk  supply;  the  country-dweller  has  plenty 
of  fresh  milk,  but  frequently  finds  it  difficult  to  be  sure 
of  pure  water. 

The  country  homemaker  often  lacks  the  conveniences 
which  make  housekeeping  easier;  the  city  woman  is  often 
misled,  by  the  ease  of  obtaining  the  ready-made  article, 
into  buying  inferior  products  in  order  to  avoid  the  labor 
of  producing. 

The  family  in  the  farming  community  often  has  meager 
social  life  and  lack  of  proper  recreations ;  the  city-dweller 
is  made  restless  and  improvident  by  an  excess  of  oppor- 
tunities for  certain  sorts  of  amusement. 

Thus  each  type  of  community  has  its  own  problems. 
But  practically  all  of  these  problems  fall  under  certain 
general  heads  which  both  city  and  country  homemakers 


Establishing  a  Home 


29 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  country  home  which,  though  set  in  the  midst  of  natural  beauty, 
yet  fails  to  satisfy  the  eye  in  an  artistic  sense 


Courtesy  of  Mrs.  Joseph  E.  Wing 

In  contrast  to  the  illustration  above,  this  home  shows  what  a  few 

artistic  touches  may  do  to  enhance  the  natural 

beauty  of  the  surroundings 


30  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

should  consider  as  part  of  their 'education.  The  present 
turning  of  thought  toward  training  in  these  directions  is 
most  promising  for  the  homes  of  the  future. 

It  is  one  of  the  misfortunes  of  existing  conditions  that 
the  city  and  the  country  are  not  better  acquainted  with 
each  other.  Scorn  frequently  takes  the  place  of  under- 
standing. The  town  or  village  girl  goes  out  to  teach  in 
the  country  school,  knowing  little  of  country  living  and 
less  of  country  homes.  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
for  such  a  teacher  to  be  an  influence  for  good.  Espe- 
cially as  she  approaches  the  homemaking  problem  is  she 
without  the  knowledge  which  must  underlie  successful 
work.  It  is  important  that  the  city  girl  under  such  con- 
ditions should  make  a  special  effort  to  study  country  life 
and  country  homes  in  a  sympathetic,  helpful  spirit. 

Perhaps  our  analysis  of  homemaking  problems  can  take 
no  more  practical  form  than  to  follow  from  its  hypothetical 
beginning  the  making  of  an  actual  home. 

No  more  inspiring  moment  comes  in  the  lives  of  most 
men  and  women  than  that  in  which  the  first  step  is  taken 
toward  making  their  first  home.  There  is  an  instinctive 
recognition  of  the  greatness  of  the  occasion.  But  igno- 
rance will  dull  the  glow  of  inspiration  and  wrong  standards 
will  lead  to  wreck  of  highest  hopes.  Let  us,  therefore, 
be  practical  and  definite  and  face  the  facts. 

A  home  is  to  be  established.  The  first  question  is: 
Where?  To  a  certain  extent  circumstances  must  answer 
this  question.  The  character  and  place  of  employment 
of  the  breadwinner,  the  income,  social  relations  already 
established,  school,  church,  library,  market,  water  and 
sanitary  conditions,  must  all  be  considered.  Yet  even 
these  regulating  conditions  must  receive  intelligent  treat- 
ment. How  many  young  homemakers  have  any  definite 
idea  as  to  what  proportion  of  the  income  may  safely  be 


Establishing  a  Home  3 1 

expended  for  shelter?     How  many  can  tell  the  relative 
advantages  of  renting  and  owning? 

Probably  the  first  consideration  in  selection  is  likely  to 
be  whether  the  home  is  to  be  permanent  or  merely  tem- 
porary. When  the  occupation  is  likely  to  be  permanent, 
the  greatest  comfort  and  well-being  will  usually  result 


Copyi 


by  Keystone  View  Co. 


A  tenement  district.     One  of  the  greatest  disadvantages  in  urban 
life  is  the  overcrowding  in  tenement  houses 

from  establishing  early  a  permanent  home;  and  this 
involves  a  long  look  ahead  to  justify  the  selection  of  a  site. 
Not  only  must  health  and  convenience  be  considered,  but 


32  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

future  questions  relative  to  the  expanding  requirements 
of  the  homemakers  and  to  the  education  and  proper 
upbringing  of  a  family  as  well.  Then,  too,  young  people 
must  usually  begin  modestly  from  a  financial  stand- 
point, and  they  are  therefore  cut  off  from  certain  loca- 
tions which  they  may  perhaps  desire  and  which  they 
might  hope  to  attain  in  later  years.  In  the  country, 
where  the  livelihood  is  often  gained  directly  from  the  land, 
a  new  element  enters  into  selection  and  must  to  some 
extent  take  precedence  over  others.  Soil  considerations 
aside,  however,  we  have  health,  beauty,  social  environ- 
ment, educational  advantages,  and  expense  to  consider; 
and  we  should  establish  certain  standards  in  these 
directions  for  our  young  people  to  measure  by. 

Considerations  of  health  must  include  not  only  climatic 
conditions,  but  questions  of  drainage,  water  supply,  time 
and  comfort  of  transportation  to  work,  and  the  sanitary 
condition  of  the  neighborhood. 

Prospective  homemakers  must  learn,  too,  the  value  of 
reposeful  surroundings  and  of  some  degree  of  natural 
beauty.  They  must  recognize  the  value  also  of  desirable 
social  environment  —  that  is,  of  such  moral  and  intel- 
lectual surroundings  as  will  be  uplifting  for  the  home- 
makers  and  safe  for  the  future  family.  They  will,  it  is 
hoped,  learn  that  a  merely  fashionable  neighborhood  is 
not  necessarily  a  desirable  environment.  The  church, 
the  school,  the  library,  and  proper  recreation  centers  are 
also  to  be  considered  in  one's  social  outlook.  They  are 
all  distinctly  worth  paying  for,  as  also  is  a  good  road. 

With  the  site  selected,  the  great  problem  of  building 
next  confronts  the  homemaker.  Here  again  the  prin- 
ciples of  selection  should  be  sufficiently  known  to  young 
people,  boys  and  girls  alike,  to  save  them  from  the  mis- 
takes so  commonly  made  and  frequently  so  regretted. 


Establishing  a  Home  33 

The  people  who  can  afford  to  employ  an  architect  to 
design  their  homes  are  in  a  decided  minority,  and  the 
only  way  to  insure  good  houses  for  the  less  well-to-do 
majority  is  to  see  that  the  less  well-to-do  do  not  grow  up 
without  instruction  as  to  what  good  houses  are.  The 
great  tendency  of  the  day  in  building  is  fortunately 
toward  increased  simplicity  and  toward  a  quality  which 
we  may  call  "livableness."  This  tendency  we  shall  do 
well  to  fix  in  our  teaching. 

In  general,  the  good  house  is  plain,  substantial,  con- 
venient, and  suited  to  its  surroundings.  Efficient  house- 
keeping is  largely  conditioned  by  such  very  practical 
details  as  closets  and  pantries,  the  relative  positions  of 
sink  and  stove,  the  height  of  work  tables  and  shelves,  the 
distance  from  range  to  dining  table,  the  ease  or  difficulty 
of  cleaning  woodwork,  laundry  facilities,  and  the  like. 
Housekeeping  is  made  up  of  accumulated  details  of  work, 
and  adequate  preparation  for  comfort  in  working  can  be 
made  only  when  the  house  is  in  process  of  construction. 

Not  less  are  the  higher  and  more  abstract  duties  of  the 
homemaker  served  by  the  kind  of  house  she  lives  and 
works  in.  In  a  hundred  details  the  homemaker  should 
be  able  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  "place  to  make 
citizens  in."  A  common  mistake  in  building  produces 
a  house  which  adds  to,  rather  than  lessens,  the  burdens 
of  its  inmates.  More  often  than  not  this  is  the  result  of 
a  misapprehension  of  what  houses  are  for. 

There  are  many  large  mansions  in  our  villages  and 
cities  built  for  show  and  display  of  wealth  in  which 
no  one  will  live  today.  These  houses  are  being  torn  down 
and  sold  for  junk.  The  modern  home  is  built  for  one 
purpose  only,  a  home. 

We  must  therefore  teach  our  boys  and  girls  that  houses 
are  for  shelter,  work,  comfort,  and  rest,  and  to  satisfy 


34  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

our  sense  of  beauty,  not  to  serve  as  show  places  nor  to 
establish  for  us  a  standing  in  the  community  proportionate 
to  the  size  of  our  buildings.  We  must  teach  them  to 
measure  their  house  needs  and  to  avoid  the  uselessly 
ornate  as  well  as  the  hopelessly  ugly.  We  must  teach 
them  to  consider  ease  of  upkeep  a  distinctly  valuable 
factor  in  building.  But  most  of  all  must  the  homemaker 
be  taught  that  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  the  family 
come  first  in  the  making  of  plans. 

Few  persons  possess  sufficient  originality  to  think  out 
new  and  valuable  arrangements  for  houses;  therefore  we 
must  see  that  their  minds  are  rendered  alert  to  discover 
successful  arrangements  in  the  houses  they  are  constantly 
seeing  and  to  adapt  these  arrangements  to  their  own  needs. 
Unless  their  minds  are  awakened  in  this  direction,  the 
majority  will  merely  see  the  house  problem  in  large 
units,  overlooking  the  finer  points  of  detail  which  mean 
comfort  or  the  opposite. 

I  recall  spending  a  considerable  number  of  drawing 
periods  in  my  grammar-school  days  upon  copying  drawings 
of  houses.  I  recall  that  we  became  sufficiently  conver- 
sant with  such  terms  as  front  elevation,  side  elevation, 
and  floor  plan  to  feel  that  we  were  deep  in  technical 
knowledge.  But  I  do  not  recall  that  anyone  suggested 
any  question  as  to  the  suitability  of  these  houses  for 
homes,  or  opened  our  minds  to  consideration  of  the  fact 
that  house  building  was  a  proper  concern  for  our  minds. 
It  was  merely  a  case  in  which  educative  processes  failed 
to  function.  They  do  things  better  now  in  many  schools. 
But  we  should  not  rest  until  all  of  our  prospective  home- 
makers  have  opportunity  to  obtain  practical  instruction 
in  home  planning  and  building. 

Matters  pertaining  to  heating,  ventilating,  and  plumbing 
are  easily  taught  as  resting  upon  certain  definite,  well- 


Establishing  a  Home  3  5 

understood  principles.  Here  the  personal  element  is 
less  to  be  considered,  and  scientific  knowledge  may  be 
passed  on  with  some  degree  of  authority.  Our  courses 
in  physics,  chemistry,  and  hygiene  can  be  made  thor- 
oughly practical  without  losing  any  of  their  scientific 
value..  Especially  in  our  rural  schools  should  matters  of 
this  sort  receive  careful  and  adequate  treatment.  In 
times  past  it  was  considered  inevitable  that  the  country- 
dweller  should  lack  the  advantages,  found  in  most  city 
houses,  of  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  radiated  heat  for 
the  whole  house,  proper  disposal  of  waste,' and  arrange- 
ments for  cold  storage.  We  know  now  that  these  things 
are  obtainable  at  less  cost  than  we  had  supposed;  and  we 
know  also  that  it  is  not  lack  of  means,  but  lack  of  knowl- 
edge, which  forces  many  to  do  without  them.  In  many 
a  farm  home  the  doctor's  bills  for  one  or  two  winters 
would  pay  for  installing  proper  systems  of  heat  and 
ventilation.  Everything  that  tends  to  increase  the  com- 
fort and  safety  of  home  life  must  be  taught,  as  well  as 
everything  that  tends  to  lessen  the  labor  of  keeping  a 
family  clean,  warm,  and  properly  fed. 

Accurate  figures  should  be  obtained  to  set  before  the 
boys  and  girls  who  will  be  homemakers,  showing  the  cost, 
in  time,  labor,  and  money,  of  running  a  heating  plant  for 
the  house  as  compared  with  several  stoves  scattered  about 
in  the  dwelling.  To  accompany  these  we  must  have 
more  figures,  showing  the  comparative  time  spent  in 
doing  the  necessary  work  incidental  to  the  operation  of 
each  type  of  apparatus.  We  must  consider  the  com- 
parative cleanliness  of  both  types  of  heating  plants,  with 
their  effect,  first,  upon  the  health  of  the  family,  and 
secondly,  upon  the  amount  of  cleaning  necessary  to  keep 
the  house  in  proper  condition.  We  must  compare  types 
of  stoves  with  one  other,  hot-air,  steam,  and  hot-water 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


plants  with  one  another,  and  various  kinds  of  fuels,  both 

as  to  cost  and  as  to  efficacy. 

The  water  question  is  one  of  real  interest  to  both  city- 

and  country-dweller,  although  the  chances  are  that  the 

country- dweller 
knows  less  about 
his  source  of 
supply  than  the 
city-dweller 
can  know  if  he 
chooses  to  in- 
vestigate. The 
city-dweller 
should  know 
whence  and  by 
what  means  the 
water  flows 
from  his  faucet , 
if  for  no  other 
reason  than  that 
he  may  do  his 
part  in  seeing 
that  the  money 
spent  by  his 
city  or  town 
brings  adequate 
return  to  the 
the 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  dangerous  well.      The  rural  homemaker  must 

make  sure  that  his  water  supply  is  at  a  safe 

distance  from  contaminating  impurities 


taxpayer.     For   the   rural    homemaker,    of   course, 
problem  usually  becomes  an  individual  one. 

Is  the  water  supply  adequate?  Is  the  water  free  from 
harmful  bacteria?  Is  the  source  a  safe  distance  from 
contaminating  impurities?  Are  we  obtaining  the  water 
for  household  and  farm  purposes  without  more  labor  than 
is  compatible  with  good  management?  Is  not  running 


Establishing  a  Home 


37 


water  as  important  for  the  house  as  for  the  barn?     How 

much  water  does  an  ordinary  family  need  for  all  purposes 

in  a  day?     How  much  time  does  it  take  to  pump  and 

carry  this  quantity  by  hand  or  to  draw  it  from  a  well? 

How  much  strength  and  nerve  force  are  thus  expended 

that   might    be  j. 

saved  for  more  im- 

portant  work? 

Does  lack  of  time 

or  strength  cause 

the  homekeeper  to 

"get   along"  with 

less  water  in  the 

house  than  is  really 

needed?     Is  there 

any  natural  means 

at  hand  for  pump- 

ing   the    water  — 

any    "brook   that 

may  be   put  to 

work,"  any   grav- 

ity system  that 

may  be  installed  ? 

If  not,  are  there 

mechanical  means 

available    that 

would   really   pay 

for     themSelveS      in 

j 
increased  water, 

time,  and  comfort 

for  all  the  family? 

From  a  consideration  of  water  supply  we  pass  naturally 
to  questions  of  the  disposal  of  waste,  and  here  again 
is  found  a  subject  too  often  neglected  both  in  town 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Where  water  must  be  pumped  and  carried 
by  hand  much  strength  and  nerve  force 

are  expended  which  might  be  kept 

for  more  importanl  work 


38  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

and  in  rural  communities.  In  the  city  the  problems  are  not 
individual  ones  in  the  main,  but  rather  questions  of  the 
best  management  and  use  of  the  public  utilities  concerned. 
Does  the  average  city  householder  know  what  becomes 
of  the  waste  removed  from  his  door  by  the  convenient 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  "brook  put  to  work"  may  be  utilized  in  supplying  water  to 
a  farmhouse 

arrival  of  the  ash  man,  the  garbage  man,  the  rubbish 
man?  Does  he  know  whether  this  waste  is  disposed  of 
in  the  most  sanitary  way?  Does  he  consider  whether  it 
is  removed  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  inoffensive  and  without 
danger  to  the  people  through  whose  streets  it  is  carried? 
Does  he  know  anything  of  the  cost  to  the  city  of  waste 
disposal?  Is  it  merely  an  expense,  and  a  heavy  one,  for 
him  in  common  with  other  taxpayers  to  bear?  Or  is  the 
business  made  to  pay  for  itself?  If  not,  is  it  possible  to 


Establishing  a  Home 


39 


Photograph  by  Br 

An  objectionable  garbage  wagon.     Disposal  of 

waste  is  a  subject  too  often  neglected  both 

in  urban  and  in  rural  communities 


make  it  pay?     Does  any  community  make  the  waste 
account  balance  itself  at  the  end  of  the  year? 

In  the  country, 
once  more  we  face 
the  individual 
problem  rather 
than  that  of  the 
community.  Here 
proper  provision 
for  the  disposal 
of  waste  often 
necessitates  more 
knowledge  of  the 
subject  than  is  pos- 
sessed  by  the 
homemaker,  or 
sometimes  it  requires  the  installation  of  apparatus  whose 
cost  seems  prohibitive.  A  careful  consideration  of  these 
matters  will  possi- 
bly disclose  the 
fact  that  a  smaller 
expenditure  may 
accomplish  the  de- 
sired purpose.  Or, 
if  this  is  not  true, 
it  may  be  found 
that  the  end  ac- 
complished  is 
worth  the  expend- 

itUre      Of      What  Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

seemed  a  prohibi-     This  new  covered  garbage  wagon  subjects  the 
, .  public  to  no  danger 

tive  sum.    A  water 

closet,  for  instance,  has  not  only  a  sanitary  but  a  moral 

value.     "We  must  somehow  educate  people  to  understand 


40  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

and  to  believe  that  the  basis  of  family  health  and  useful- 
ness is  proper  living  conditions,  and  that  some  system  of 
sewage  and  garbage  disposal  is  a  necessary  step  toward 
proper  living  conditions.  With  the  urban  population 
these  matters  are  removed  from  personal  and  immediate 
consideration,  but  every  rural  homemaker  must  face  his 
own  problems,  with  the  knowledge  that  since  his  conditions 
are  individual  his  solution  must  be  equally  his  own. 

In  the  matters  pertaining  to  decoration  within  the 
house  as  well  as  beautifying  its  surroundings,  the  country- 
and  the  city-dweller  meet  on  equal  terms.  Their  prob- 
lems may  differ  in  detail,  but  the  principles  to  be  studied 
are  the  same.  Here  our  art  courses  must  be  made  to 
contribute  their  share  to  the  homemaker's  training.  We 
must  strike  the  keynote  of  simplicity,  both  within  and 
without,  and  must  teach  girls  especially  the  value  of 
carefully  thought-out  color  schemes  and  decorating  plans, 
to  be  carried  out  by  different  people  in  the  materials  and 
workmanship  suited  to  their  purses.  They  must  learn 
that  expense  is  not  necessarily  a  synonym  for  beauty; 
they  must  know  the  characteristics  of  fabrics  and  other 
decorative  materials;  and  they  must  be  trained  to  recog- 
nize the  qualities  for  which  expenditure  of  money  and 
effort  are  worth  while. 

In  the  designing  of  school  buildings  nowadays  close 
attention  is  paid  to  beauty  of  architecture,  symmetry  of 
form,  convenience  of  arrangement,  and  durable  but 
artistic  furnishings.  All  unwittingly  the  child  receives 
an  aesthetic  training  through  his  daily  life  in  the  midst 
of  attractive  surroundings. 

Many  of  our  rural  schools  are  doing  excellent  work  in 
teaching  children  to  beautify  the  school  grounds.  Some 
of  them  go  farther  and  interest  their  pupils  in  attacking 
the  problem  of  improving  outside  conditions  at  home. 


Establishing  a  Home  41 

Every  child  whose  mind  is  thus  turned  in  the  direction  of 
attractive  home  grounds  has  unconsciously  taken  a  step 
toward  one  branch  of  efficient  homemaking.  If  it  were 
possible  to  give  pupils  the  foundation  principles  of  land- 
scape gardening,  they  might  learn  to  see  with  a  trained 
eye  the  problems  they  will  otherwise  attack  blindly. 


An  example  of  the  newer  architecture.     An  artistic  approach  to  a 
school  has  a  daily  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  child 


I  rocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


With  the  house  built  and  ready  for  its  furniture,  the 
selection  of  the  latter  becomes  both  part  of  the  scheme 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Rural  school  with  flower  bed.     Many  of  the  rural  schools  are  doing 
excellent  work  in  teaching  children  to  beautify  the  school  grounds 

of  decoration  and  part  also  of  the  domestic  plans  for 
securing  comfort  and  inspiring  surroundings.  The  same 
principles  of  beauty  and  utility,  restfulness,  comfort,  and 
suitability,  are  called  into  requisition.  The  trained 
housewife  will  have  an  eye  toward  future  dusting  and  will 
choose  the  less  ornate  articles.  The  same  person,  in  her 
capacity  as  the  mother  of  citizens,  will  see  that  chairs 
are  comfortable  to  sit  in,  that  tables  and  desks  are  the 
right  height  for  work,  that  book  cases  and  cabinets  are 
sufficient  in  number  and  size  to  take  care  of  the  family 
treasures.  She  will  use  pictures  sparingly  and  choose 
them  to  inspire.  Perhaps,  most  of  all,  the  woman  with 


Establishing  a  Home 


43 


the  trained  mind  will  know  how  to  avoid  a  superfluity 
of  furniture  in  her  rooms.  She  will  be  educated  to  the 
beauty  of  well-planned  spaces  and  will  not  feel  obliged 
to  fill  every  nook  and  corner  with  chairs  or  tables  or 
sofas  or  other  pieces  of  furniture  which  merely  "fill  the 
space." 

Before  furnishing  is  considered  complete,  the  house- 
keeper must  take  into  account  the  matter  of  operating 
apparatus.  Perhaps  a  large  part  of  this  important 
department  of  house  equipment  has  been  built  into  the 
house.  The  water  system,  the  sewer  connection  or  its 
substitute,  and  the  lighting  apparatus  are  already  in- 
stalled, so  that  the  turn  of  a  switch  or  a  faucet,  the  pull 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

An  artistic  living  room.     The  principles  of  beauty  and  utility, 

restfulness,  comfort,  and  suitability,  must  all  be  considered 

in  the  furnishing  of  a  home 

of  a  chain,  sets  one  or  all  to  work  for  us.  We  are  now 
to  consider  whether  we  shall  buy  a  vacuum  cleaner  or 
a  broom  and  dustpan;  a  washing  machine  and  electric 


44  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

flatiron  or  the  services  of  a  washerwoman,  or  shall  tele- 
phone the  laundry  to  call  for  the  wash.  Shall  we  invest 
in  a  "home  steam-canning  outfit"  at  ten  dollars,  or 
make  up  a  list  for  the  retailer  of  the  products  of  the 
canning  factory?  Shall  we  have  a  sewing  machine,  or 
plan  to  buy  our  clothing  from  "the  store"? 

Once  upon  a  time  practically  the  only  labor-saving 
device  possible  to  the  housekeeping  woman  was  another 
woman.  To-day  many  devices  are  offered  to  take  her 
place.  Our  homemaker  must  know  about  them,  and  must 
compare  their  value  with  the  older  piece  of  operating 
machinery,  the  domestic  servant.  She  must  know  what 
it  costs  to  keep  a  servant,  in  money,  in  responsibility, 
and  in  all  the  various  ways  which  cannot  be  reduced  to 
figures. 

Already  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  "servant  question" 
have  caused  much  and  long-continued  agitation.  The 
woman  of  the  future  should  be  taught  to  approach  the 
matter  with  a  scientific  summing  up  of  the  facts  and  with 
a  readiness  to  lift  domestic  service  to  a  standardized 
vocation  or  to  abandon  it  altogether  in  favor  of  the 
"labor-saving  devices"  and  the  "public  utilities." 
Certain  of  our  home-efficiency  experts  assure  us  that  all 
"industries  in  the  home  are  doomed."  If  this  is  true, 
the  domestic  servant  must  of  necessity  cease  to  exist. 
Most  persons,  however,  cannot  yet  see  how  "public 
utilities"  will  be  able  to  do  all  of  our  work.  We  may 
send  the  washing  out,  but  we  cannot  send  out  the  beds 
to  be  made,  the  eggs  to  be  boiled,  or  the  pictures,  chairs, 
and  window  sills  to  be  dusted.  The  table  must  be  set 
at  home,  and  the  dishes  washed  there,  until  we  approach 
the  day  of  communal  eating  places,  which,  as  we  all 
know,  will  be  difficult  to  utilize  for  infants  and  the  aged, 
for  invalids,  and  for  the  vast  army  of  those  who  are 


Establishing  a  Home 


45 


averse  to  faring  forth  three  times  daily  in  search  of  food. 
For  a  long  time  yet  the  domestic  servant,  or  her  substi- 
tute, will  be  with  us,  doing  the  work  that  even  so  great  a 
power  as  "public  utilities"  cannot  remove  from  the  home. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Contrast  the  bad  taste  displayed  in  the  furnishing  of  this  hopelessly 
inartistic  room  with  the  simplicity  shown  in  that  on  page  43 

At  present  there  is  much  to  indicate  that  the  servant's 
substitute,  in  the  form  of  various  labor-saving  devices, 


46  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

will  eventually  fill  the  place  of  the  already  vanishing 
domestic  worker.  Whether  this  proves  to  be  the  case 
will  rest  largely  with  these  girls  whom  we  are  educating 
to-day.  The  pendulum  is  swinging  rather  wildly  now,  but 
by  their  day  of  deciding  things  it  may  have  settled  down 
to  a  steady  motion  so  that  their  push  will  send  it  defi- 
nitely in  one  direction  or  the  other. 

There  is  no  inherent  reason  why  making  cake  should 
be  a  less  honorable  occupation  than  making  undenvear 
or  shoes ;  why  a  well-kept  kitchen  should  be  a  less  desirable 
workroom  than  a  crowded,  noisy  factory.  But  under 
existing  conditions  the  comparison  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  worker  is  largely  in  favor  of  the  factory. 
Among  the  facts  to  be  faced  by  the  homemaker  who 
wishes  to  intercept  the  flight  of  the  housemaid  and  the 
cook  are  these : 

1.  Hours  for  the  domestic  worker  must  be  definite, 
as  they  are  in  shop  or  factory  work. 

2 .  The  working  day  must  be  shortened. 

3.  Time  outside  of  working  hours  must  be  absolutely 
the  worker's  own. 

4.  The  worker  must  either  live  outside  the  home  in 
which  she  works,   or  must  have  privacy,   convenience, 
comfort,  and  the  opportunity  to  receive  her  friends,  as 
she  would  at  home. 

In  short,  the  houseworker  must  have  definite  work, 
definite  hours,  and  outside  these  must  be  free  to  live  her 
own  life,  in  her  own  way,  and  among  her  own  friends, 
as  the  factory  girl  lives  hers  when  her  day's  work  is 
done. 

That  women  are  already  awaking  to  these  responsi- 
bilities is  shown  by  the  increasing  number  who  choose 
the  labor-saving  devices  in  place  of  the  flesh-and-blood 
machine.  Many  of  these  women  will  tell  you  that  they 


Establishing  a  Home  47 

make  this  choice  to  avoid  the  personal  responsibility 
involved  in  having  a  resident  worker  in  the  house.  There 
is  comfort  in  not  having  to  consider  "whether  or  not  the 
vacuum  cleaner  likes  to  live  in  the  country,"  or  the 
bread  mixer  "has  a  backache,"  or  the  electric  flatiron 
desires  "an  afternoon  off  to  visit  its  aunt."  It  is  the 
same  satisfaction  we  feel  in  urging  the  automobile  to 
greater  speed  regardless  of  the  melting  heat,  the  pouring 
rain,  or  the  number  of  miles  it  has  already  traveled  to-day. 
Perhaps  the  future  will  see  machines  for  household  work 
so  improved  and  multiplied  that  we  can  escape  altogether 
this  perplexing  personal  problem  of  "the  woman  who 
works  for  us." 

Whether  or  not  we  escape  this  problem  when  we 
patronize  the  laundry,  the  bakeshop,  the  underwear 
factory,  is  a  matter  for  further  thought.  To  many  it 
seems  a  simpler  matter  to  face  the  problem  of  one  cook, 
one  laundress,  than  to  investigate  conditions  in  factory, 
bakery,  and  laundry,  to  agitate,  to  "use  our  influence," 
to  urge  legislation,  to  follow  up  inspectors  and  their 
reports,  to  boycott  the  bakery,  to  be  driven  into  the 
establishment  of  a  cooperative  laundry  whether  we  will 
or  no,  in  order  to  fulfill  our  obligations  to  the  "women 
who  work  for  us  "  in  these  various  places.  True,  our  duty 
to  womankind  requires  that  we  do  all  these  things  to  a 
certain  extent  so  long  as  the  public  utilities  exist,  but  with 
the  multiplication  of  utilities  to  a  number  sufficient  to  do 
a  large  portion  of  our  work,  it  would  seem  that  women 
would  be  left  little  time  for  anything  else  than  their 
supervision  and  regulation. 

Problems  relating  to  the  establishing  of  a  home  would 
once  have  been  considered  far  from  the  province  of  the 
teacher  in  the  public  school.  Formerly  we  taught  our 
children  a  little  of  everything  except  how  to  live.  Now 


48  T  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

we  are  realizing  that  the  teacher  should  be  a  constructive 
social  force.  Living  is  a  more  complicated  thing  than 
it  once  was,  and  the  school  must  do  its  share  in  fitting 
the  children  for  their  task.  All  these  matters  we  have 
been  considering — the  selection  of  a  home  site,  building, 
decorating,  furnishing,  sanitation,  and  all  the  rest  — 
represent  constructive  social  work  the  teacher  may  do, 
which,  if  she  passes  it  by,  may  not  be  done  at  all.  College 
courses  should  prepare  the  teacher  for  such  work,  but 
even  the  girl  who  is  not  college-trained  will  find,  if  she 
seeks  it,  help  sufficient  for  her  training.  And  the  work 
awaits  her  on  every  hand. 


CHAPTER  IV 
RUNNING  THE  DOMESTIC  MACHINERY 

WITH  a  home  established,  the  problems  confronting 
the  homemaker  become  those  of  administration. 
The  ' 'place  for  making  citizens"  is  built  and  ready. 
The  making  of  citizens  must  begin. 

One  of  the  fundamental  requisites  for  the  efficient 
operation  of  the  home  plant  is  that  the  homemaker  shall 
have  a  firm  grasp  upon  the  financial  part  of  the  business. 
To  estimate  the  number  of  homes  wrecked  every  year  by 
lack  of  this  economic  knowledge  is  of  course  impossible; 
but  you  can  call  up  without  effort  many  cases  in  which 
this  lack  was  at  least  a  contributing  element  to  the  wreck. 

Keeping  expenditures  within  the  income  is  only  the 
ABC  of  the  financial  knowledge  required,  although,  like 
other  ABC's,  it  is  essential  to  the  acquirement  of  deeper 
knowledge.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  housekeeper 
merely  succeeds  in  keeping  out  of  debt.  She  must  know 
what  to  expect  in  return  for  the  money  that  she  spends, 
and  she  must  know  whether  or  not  she  gets  it.  She  must 
have  definitely  in  mind  the  results  she  expects,  and  she 
must  know  why  she  spends  for  certain  objects  rather 
than  for  others. 

In  the  days  of  famine  and  fear,  the  individual  was 
fortunate  who  had  food,  shelter,  and  a  skin  to  wrap  about 
his  shivering  shoulders.  In  these  days  it  is  not  enough 
to  have  merely  these  things.  Certain  standards  of  civi- 
lized life  must  be  met,  and  we  shall  find  that  it  requires 
judgment  and  skill  to  apportion  our  funds  properly. 

The  common  needs  of  civilized  mankind  are  usually 
roughly  classified  as  follows:  food;  shelter;  clothing; 

49 


50  I  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

operating  expenses,  including  service,  heat,  light,  water, 
repairs,  refurnishing,  and  the  general  upkeep  of  the 
plant;  advancement,  including  education,  recreation, 
travel,  charity,  church,  doctor,  dentist,  savings. 

The  exact  proportion  of  any  income  devoted  to  each 
of  these  is  of  course  a  matter  conditioned  by  the  needs 
of  the  particular  family  as  well  as  by  its  tastes  and  desires. 
Figures  are  obtainable  which  throw  light  upon  proportions 
found  advisable  in  what  are  considered  typical  cases. 
We  may  learn  the  minimum  amount  of  money  which  will 
feed  a  man  in  New  York  or  in  various  other  cities  and 
towns.  We  may  find  estimates  as  to  the  prices  of  a 
"decent  living"  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Home- 
economics  experts  will  furnish  us  with  figures  which  may 
be  used  as  a  basis  for  apportioning  this  amount  among 
departments  of  household  expenses.  That  the  figures 
offered  by  these  experts  differ  more  or  less  widely  need 
not  disturb  us.  It  is  perhaps  too  early  in  such  work  for 
final  authoritative  estimates. 

The  following  apportionment  is  taken  from  Chapin's 
The  Standard  of  Living  among  Workingmens  Families 
in  New  York  City  and  has  to  do  with  the  minimum  income 
required  for  normal  living  for  a  family  of  father,  mother, 
and  three  children  on  Manhattan  Island : 

Food $359.00 

Housing 168.00 

Fuel  and  light 41 .00 

Clothing 1 13.00 

Carfare 16.00 

Health 22.00 

Insurance 18.00 

Sundry  items 74.00 

$8 1 1. oo 

"Families  having  from  $900  to  $1,000  a  year,"  con- 
cludes Dr.  Chapin,  "are  able,  in  general,  to  get  food 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  5 1 

enough  to  keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  clothing  and 
shelter  enough  to  meet  the  most  urgent  demands  of 
decency."  Regarding  incomes  below  $900,  he  says, 
"Whether  an  income  between  $800  and  $900  can  be  made 
to  suffice  is  a  question  to  which  our  data  do  not  warrant 
a  dogmatic  answer." 

The  two  apportionments  given  below  have  been  made 
by  the  federal  government  and  concern  the  maintenance 
of  a  normal  standard  in  two  industrial  sections  of  the 
country.  In  each  case  the  family  is  assumed  to  be,  as 
in  Dr.  Chapin's  estimate,1  made  up  of  father,  mother, 
and  three  children. 

Fall  River,  Georgia  and 

Mass.  North  Carolina 

Food $312.00 $286.67 

Housing 132.00 44.81 

Clothing 136.80 113.00 

Fuel  and  light  ..  .     42.75 49.16 

Health 11.65 16.40 

Insurance.   .  :  .  . .     18.40 18.20 

Sundry  items. ...     78.00 72.60 

$731.90  $600.74 

These  estimates  do  no  more  than  suggest  the  minimum 
upon  which  the  various  items  of  living  expense  can  be 
met  and  the  proportion  to  each  account.  People  who 
can  do  more  upon  their  incomes  than  merely  live  must 
look  farther  for  help. 

Mrs.  Bruere  in  her  Increasing  Home  Efficiency  offers 
the  following  as  a  minimum  schedule1  for  efficient  living: 

Food $  344-93 

Shelter 144.00 

Clothing 100.00 

Operation 1 50.00 

Advancement 31 2.00 

Incidentals 46.85 

$1,097.78 

iNo  studies  of  present-day  conditions  are  available.  The  proportion  spent 
for  food,  clothing,  etc.,  will  remain  nearly  the  same.  It  is  safe  to  multiply  the 
above  estimates  by  two  to  obtain  the  actual  cost  of  living  in  the  year  1919. 


52  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

"When  the  income  is  over  $1,200,"  Mrs.  Brue"re  adds, 
"the  family  has  passed  the  line  of  mere  decency  in  living 
and  entered  the  realm  of  choice.  Their  budget  need  not 
show  how  the  entire  income  must  be  spent,  but  how  it 
may  be  spent  to  gain  whatever  special  end  the  family 
has  in  view." 

That  any  estimated  schedule  for  any  income  will  fit 
exactly  the  needs  of  any  family  of  father,  mother,  and 
three  children  in  any  given  town  in  the  United  States  no 
one  supposes,  but  it  is  at  least  a  basis  upon  which  to  work. 
And  perhaps  the  main  point  from  an  educational  stand- 
point is  that  it  is  a  schedule  at  all. 

The  happy-go-lucky,  spend-as-you-go  style  of  house- 
keeping does  not  constitute  efficiency.  The  homemaking 
expert  we  are  training  will  have  a  better  plan.  She  will 
have  been  long  familiar  with  the  idea  of  apportioning 
incomes.  She  will  have  applied  the  tests  of  efficient 
decision  to  her  personal  income  before  she  has  to  attack 
the  problem  of  spending  for  a  family.  The  ideal  home- 
maker  of  the  future  will  be  a  woman  who  has  had  a 
personal  income,  and  preferably  one  that  she  has  earned 
herself  and  learned  how  to  spend  before  she  enters  upon 
matrimony  and  motherhood. 

By  the  less  scientific  plan  of  merely  recording  what  one 
has  spent,  when  the  spending  is  over,  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  some  departments  of  home  expenditure  will 
gain  at  the  expense  of  others.  If  we  can  afford  only 
$150  for  rent,  and  we  pay  $200,  it  is  evident  that  we 
must  go  without  some  portion  of  the  food  or  clothing 
or  advancement  that  we  need.  If  we  dress  extravagantly, 
we  must  pay  for  our  extravagance  by  sacrificing  efficient 
living  in  some  other  direction.  The  budget  is  not 
entirely  or  even  in  large  measure  for  the  sake  of  saving,  but 
rather  foi  the  sake  of  spending  wisely.  When  women 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery 


53 


become  as  businesslike  in  the  administration  of  home 
finances  as  they  must  be  to  succeed  in  business  life,  or  as 
men  usually  are  in  their  business  relations,  home  admin- 
istration will  be  placed  upon  a  secure  financial  footing 
and  will  gain  immeasurably  in  dignity  thereby. 

Feeding  and  clothing  a  family  are  perhaps  the  funda- 
mentals  of   the   homemaker's   daily   tasks.     And   upon 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Teaching  housewives  food  values.     No  housewife  in  these  days  need 
lack  the  knowledge  of  dietetics  which  will  fit  her  for  her  task 

neither  of  them  will  the  application  of  scientific  principles 
be  wasted.  It  is  not  enough  that  we  merely  set  food 
before  our  families  in  sufficient  quantity  to  appease  the 
clamoring  appetite.  Children  and  adults  may  suffer 
from  malnutrition  even  though  their  consumption  of 
food  is  normal  in  quantity  three  times  a  day.  No  house- 
wife is  properly  fitted  for  her  task  unless  she  has  some 
knowledge  of  dietetics. 

Many  a  notable  housewife  who  has  perhaps  never 
even   heard    of    dietetics    has   nevertheless    a    practical 


54  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

working  knowledge  of  some  or  many  of  its  principles. 
There  are  traditions  among  housewives  that  we  should 
serve  certain  foods  at  the  same  meal  or  should  cook 
certain  foods  together.  Often  these  time-honored  com- 
binations rest  upon  the  soundest  of  dietetic  principles. 


Blackburn  College  students  preparing  dinner.     Fortunately  girls 

may  study  dietetics  in  the  school  that  teaches  them  the  law  of 

gravity  and  the  rules  for  forming  French  plurals 

On  the  other  hand,  many  cooks  feed  their  families  by  a 
hit-or-miss  method  which  as  often  as  not  violates  all  the 
laws  of  scientific  feeding,  and  which  farmers  long  ago 
discarded  in  the  feeding  of  their  cows. 

Fortunately  the  girl  who  so  desires  may  now  learn 
something  of  these  feeding  laws  in  the  same  school  that 
teaches  her  the  law  of  gravitation  or  the  rules  for  forming 
French  plurals.  Fortunately,  also,  the  girls  of  to-day 
seem  inclined  to  undertake  such  study.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  expect  that  the  girl  of  the  future  will  be  able  to 
set  before  her  family  meals  scientifically  planned  or  food 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  55 

wisely  and  economically  purchased,  well  cooked,  and 
attractively  served.  Nor  is  it  too  much  to  expect  that 
teachers  will  be  able  to  do  these  things  and  to  instruct 
others  how  to  do  them.  That  this  ideal  requires  con- 
siderable and  varied  knowledge  is  clear  at  the  outset. 
The  serving  of  a  single  meal  involves:  (i)  knowledge  of 
food  values,  (2)  skill  in  making  a  " balanced  ration," 
(3)  knowledge  of  market  conditions,  (4)  skill  in  buying, 
with  special  reference  to  personal  tastes  and  financial 
conditions,  (5)  knowledge  of  the  chemistry  of  cooking, 
(6)  skill  in  applying  chemical  knowledge,  (7)  skill  in 
adapting  knowledge  of  cooking  to  existing  conditions, 
(8)  knowledge  of  serving  a  meal  and  practice  in  service. 
The  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  deaths  is  directly 
due  to  digestive  troubles  is  certainly  food  for  thought. 
Such  a  statement  alone  would  warrant  action  of  some  sort 
looking  toward  increased  knowledge  of  food  values  and 
food  preparation.  It  is  not  necessarily  because  people 
live  upon  homemade  food  that  their  digestions  are 
impaired,  as  we  so  often  hear  stated  nowadays,  but 
because  we  have  taken  it  for  granted  that,  given  a  stove, 
a  saucepan,  and  a  spoon,  any  woman  could  instinctively 
combine  flour,  water,  and  yeast  into  food.  There  is  little 
dependence  upon  instinct  in  producing  the  bread  of 
commerce.  Bakers'  bread  is  scientifically  made,  no 
doubt;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  homemade  article 
may  not  also  be  a  product  of  science.  And  there  will 
always  be  this  difference  between  the  baker  and  the 
housewife:  the  baker's  profit  must  be  expressed  in  dollars 
and  cents,  while  that  of  the  housewife  will  be  represented 
in  increased  force  and  efficiency  in  the  family  that  she 
feeds.  With  such  differing  ends  in  view,  the  processes 
and  results  of  each  must  continue  to  differ  as  widely  as 
we  know  they  do  at  present. 
5 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


It  is  now  some  years  since  Charlotte  Perkins  Oilman 
wrote  of  woman's  work: 

Six  hours  a  day  the  woman  spends  on  food, 
Six  mortal  hours! 

Till  the  slow  finger  of  heredity 

Writes  on  the  forehead  of  each  living  man, 

Strive  as  he  may:  "His  mother  was  a  cook!" 

Many  women  now  doubtless  spend  less  time  on  cooking 
than  when  Mrs.  Gilman  wrote;  perhaps  her  scorn  has 
borne  fruit.  But  the  implication  that  being  a  cook  is 

unworthy  loses  all 
its  force  unless  it 
can  be  shown  that 
"his  mother  was 
nothing  but  a  cook. ' ' 
Even  so,  there  are 
worse  things  one 
might  be.  It  is 
true  that  women 
should  not  spend 
six  hours  out  of 
the  working  day  on 
merely  one  depart- 
ment  of  their 
household  work. 
Yet  the  ill-fed  fam- 
ily is  out  of  the 
race  for  a  place 
among  the  effi- 
cient. Let  us  then 
teach  the  coming  woman  to  use  less  time,  more  science, 
and  all  the  labor-savers  there  are  available,  and  still 
accomplish  the  same,  or  perhaps  better,  results. 


A  Blackburn   College  student  mixing  bread. 

There  is  no  reason  why  homemade  bread 

may  not  be  the  product  of  science 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  5  7 

That  the  question  of  clothing  is  equally  fundamental, 
perhaps  few  of  us  will  acknowledge.  Yet  we  must  not 
underrate  its  importance.  Food  furnishes  the  fuel 
with  which  to  support  the  fires  of  life.  Clothes,  however, 
contribute  not  only  to  comfort  and  health,  but  to  mental 
well-being  and  self-respect.  So  long  as  we  mingle  with 
our  fellow  men  in  civilized  communities,  raiment  will 
continue  to  require  ''taking  thought."  That  much  of 
the  feminine  part  of  the  population  devotes  an  undue 
amount  of  thought  to  certain  aspects  of  the  clothing 
question  we  cannot  deny.  It  is  equally  certain  that 
many  women,  if  not  most  women,  devote  too  little 
thought  to  other  phases  of  the  problem. 

Present  conditions  seem  to  indicate  that  the  average 
woman,  of  any  class  of  society,  places  the  "  prevailing 
mode"  first  in  her  personal  clothing  problems.  How  to 
be  "in  style"  absorbs  much  attention  and  time.  Surely 
it  is  overshadowing  other  very  important  considerations 
relating  to  dress.  When  American  women  have  awak- 
ened to  the  real  importance  of  these  considerations,  we 
shall  observe  a  better  proportion  in  studying  the  clothes 
question. 

As  a  scientific  foundation  upon  which  to  build  her 
practical  knowledge  of  how  to  clothe  herself  and  her 
family,  the  girl  of  the  future  must  be  trained  to  an 
understanding  of  (i)  the  hygiene  of  clothes,  (2)  art 
expressed  in  clothes,  (3)  the  psychology  of  clothes,  (4) 
ethics  as  affected  by  clothes,  (5)  personality  as  expressed 
by  clothes. 

There  is  no  stage  of  life  in  which  hygiene,  art,  psychol- 
ogy, and  ethics  do  not  apply  to  clothes.  The  practical 
knowledge  built  upon  these  as  a  foundation  will  guide 
the  girl  in  choosing  clothes  which  are  suitable  to  the 
occasion  for  which  they  are  designed,  are  not  extravagant 


58  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

in  either  price  or  style,  give  good  value  for  the  money 
expended,  express  the  individuality  of  the  wearer,  and 
exert  an  influence  uplifting  rather  than  the  reverse  upon 
the  community  at  large. 

With  such  a  girl,  the  fact  that  "they"  are  wearing  this 
or  that  will  be  always  a  minor  consideration.  With 
women  trained  in  matters  of  clothing,  we  shall  no  longer  be 


Class  in  dressmaking  at  Blackburn  College.     With  women  scien- 
tifically trained  in  the  matter  of  clothing,  we  shall  do 
away  with  much  of  the  absurdity  of  dress 

confronted  by  the  absurdity  of  identical  styles  for  thick 
and  thin,  short  and  tall,  middle-aged  and  young,  rich 
and  poor.  We  shall  no  longer  see  dress  dominating,  as 
it  does  to-day,  the  entire  lives  of  thousands  of  women. 
From  the  woman  of  wealth  who  spends  a  fortune  every 
season  upon  her  wardrobe,  all  the  way  down  the  money 
scale  to  the  young  girl  who  strains  every  nerve  and 
spends  every  cent  she  can  earn  to  buy  and  wear  "the 
latest  style,"  slavery  to  fashion  is  an  evil  gigantic  in  its 
proportions  and  far-reaching  in  its  results. 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  59 

We  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  woman's  instinct 
to  make  herself  beautiful.  Rather  we  should  encourage 
it,  and  should  carefully  instruct  her  in  her  impressionable 
years  as  to  what  real  beauty  is.  It  is  almost  safe  to  say 
that  at  present  the  principle  by  which  the  modern  woman 
is  guided  in  deciding  the  great  questions  of  feminine 
attire  is  imitation.  Incidentally,  we  may  remark  that 
nobody  profits  by  such  a  mistaken  foundation  except  the 
manufacturer,  who  moves  the  women  of  the  world  about 
like  pawns  on  a  chessboard  merely  to  benefit  his  business. 
The  society  woman  brings  the  latest  thing  "from  Paris." 
The  large  New  York  establishments  sell  to  their  patrons 
copies  of  " Paris  models."  The  middle-class  shops  and 
the  middle-class  women  copy  the  copies.  The  cheap 
shops  and  the  poor  women  copy  the  copy  of  the  copy. 
Every  copy  is  made  of  less  worthy  material  than  its 
model,  of  gaudier  colors,  with  cheaper  trimmings,  until 
we  have  the  pitiful  spectacle  of  girls  who  earn  barely 
enough  to  keep  body  and  soul  together  spending  their 
money  for  garments  neither  suitable  nor  durable  —  sleazy, 
shabby  after  a  single  wearing,  short-lived — yet  for  a  few 
ephemeral  minutes  "up  to  date." 

How  far  this  heartbreaking  habit  of  imitation  extends 
in  the  poor  girl's  life  we  can  hardly  say.  She  marries, 
and  buys  furniture,  crockery,  and  lace  curtains  cheap  and 
unsuitable,  like  her  clothes,  always  imitations  and  soon 
gone,  to  be  superseded  by  more  of  the  same  sort.  What 
thoughtful  woman  desires  to  feel  herself  part  of  an 
influence  which  leads  to  so  much  that  is  insincere,  uneco- 
nomical, wasteful  both  of  raw  material  and  of  the  infi- 
nitely more  important  material  which  makes  women's 
souls?  What  teacher  of  young  girls  has  a  right  to  hold 
back  from  setting  her  hand  against  the  formation  of  habits 
so  undesirable  ? 


60  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

And  what  of  the  vast  output  of  the  factories  which 
turn -out  cheap  cloth,  cheaper  trimmings,  imitations  of 
silk,  imitations  of  velvet,  ribbons  which  will  scarcely 
survive  one  tying,  shoes  with  pasteboard  soles,  and  all 
the  other  intrinsically  worthless  products  which  now  find 
ready  sale?  When  women  have  been  educated  to  a 
standard  of  taste,  of  suitability,  of  quality,  which  will 
forbid  the  use  of  cheap  imitations  of  elegant  and  costly 
articles,  will  not  the  world  gain  in  bringing  such  factories 
to  the  making  of  products  of  real  worth  instead  of  their 
present  output? 

The  mother  of  the  future  will  bring  to  bear  upon  the 
clothing  question  not  only  more  knowledge,  but  more 
serious  thought,  than  she  does  to-day.  For  the  children 
she  must  provide  comfortable,  serviceable  play  clothes 
in  generous  quantity,  that  they  may  pursue  their  develop- 
ment unhampered  in  either  body  or  mind.  She  must 
know  the  hygiene  of  childhood  and  the  psychology  of 
children's  clothes.  For  the  growing  girls  there  must  be 
a  proper  recognition  of  the  growing  interest  in  adorn- 
ment, avoiding  the  Scylla  of  vanity  on  one  hand  and  the 
Charybdis  of  unhappy  consciousness  of  being  "different 
from  the  other  girls"  on  the  other.  For  the  sons  there 
must  be  careful  provision  for  the  athletic  life  so  dear  to 
the  boy,  together  with  due  recognition  of  the  approach- 
ing dignities  of  manhood,  with  special  care  for  the 
small  details  which  mark  the  well-groomed  man. 

As  in  the  matter  of  the  food  supply,  there  must  be 
knowledge  of  markets  and  skill  in  buying.  And,  as  in 
that  case,  there  should  be  knowledge  of  the  process  of 
transforming  materials  into  the  finished  product.  Pro- 
cesses involving  a  great  degree  of  technical  skill,  such  as 
the  tailor's  art,  the  average  woman  will  not  attempt; 
but  the  simpler  forms  of  garment  making  present  no 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery 


61 


special  difficulty  to  those  who  wish  to  try  them  or  who 
find  it  expedient  to  do  so. 

A  wholesale  assumption  that  it  is  only  a  question  of  a 
short  time  before  all  garment  making  will  be  done  in  the 
factory  is  probably  without  warrant.  We  read  again  and 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Buying  clothing  ready  made.     The  question  of  buying  clothing 

ready  made  or  of  making  it  will  find  individual  solution 

according  to  means,  inclination,  and  ability 

again  of  late,  "The  day  of  buying  instead  of  making  is 
here!  We  may  like  it  or  not  like  it,  but  the  fact  remains, 
it  is  here! "  And  then  we  look  all  about  us,  and  find  that 
the  day  is  apparently  not  here  for  at  least  several  thou- 
sands of  people  of  whom  we  have  personal  knowledge. 
That  discovery  gives  us  courage  to  look  farther.  We 
find  paper-pattern  companies  flourishing;  dress  goods 
selling  in  the  retail  departments  as  they  have  always  sold; 
seamstresses  fully  occupied;  and  we  conclude  that  for 
some  time  yet  the  question  of  buying  or  making  will  find 
individual  solution,  according  to  means,  inclination,  and 


62 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


ability.     What  we  wish  to  guard  against  in  the  upbringing 
of  our  future  mothers  is  the  necessity  of  buying  because 


Photograph  by  Bro\ 


In  a  community  preserving  kitchen  questions  of  food  supply  may 
sometimes  be  solved  and  community  interests  unified 

of  a  lack  of  the  ability  to  make.  The  woman  trained  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  making  of  garments  is  the  only  woman 
who  can  intelligently  decide  the  question  for  her  own 
household.  The  others  are  forced  to  a  decision  by  their 
own  limitations. 

Passing  from  the  elemental  needs,  shelter,  warmth, 
food,  and  clothing,  we  enter  upon  the  most  complex  of 
woman's  duties — adjustment  of  her  home  to  community 
conditions  and  provision  for  her  family's  share  in  com- 
munity life.  That  these  more  abstract  problems  fre- 
quently overlap  the  concrete  ones  already  enumerated 
need  not  be  said.  It  is  impossible,  even  if  we  so  desire, 
to  live  "to  ourselves  alone."  We  shall  undoubtedly  stand 
for  something  in  the  community,  whether  consciously 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  63 

or  otherwise.  If  it  were  given  us  to  know  the  extent 
of  our  influence,  we  should  probably  be  appalled  at  the 
crossing  and  recrossing  of  the  lines  emanating  from  our 
daily  lives. 

In  some  households  there  are  definite  aims  in  the  direc- 
tion of  community  life.  These  differ  widely.  In  many 
the  question  seems  to  be  entirely,  "What  can  I  get  from 
the  community?"  in  some,  "What  can  I  give?"  in  a  few, 
"What  can  I  share?"  Of  the  three,  the  last  is  without 
doubt  the  one  which  contributes  most  to  community 
well-being. 

The  ordryina  family  of  necessity  touches  community 
life  at  one  time  or  another  at  certain  well-defined  points. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  community  Christmas  tree.     Even  the  younger  children  may  be 
given  the  opportunity  to  take  part  in  community  work 

The  efficient  homemaker  must  therefore  make  intelligent 
provision  for  these  points  of  contact  with  the  community. 


64  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Church  and  charity  organizations  have  always  been 
recognized  in  American  life  as  community  matters  and 
have  provided  community  meeting  places  and  community 
work.  Through  them,  especially  in  earlier  days,  women 
often  found  their  only  common  activities.  The  school 
furnished  the  same  common  ground  for  the  children. 
In  the  present  time  of  multiplied  activity  these  organi- 
zations still  stand  in  the  foreground.  In  them,  both 
young  and  old  find  perhaps  their  best  opportunity  for 
"team  work." 

A  parish  in  which  all  pull  together  is  perhaps  as  rare 
as  a  school  in  which  every  child  truly  desires  to  learn. 
Yet  neither  is  beyond  the  possibilities.  To  keep  each 
family  in  a  proper  attitude  toward  these  community 
institutions  is  part  of  the  homemaker's  work  —  and  a 
delicate  task  it  often  is.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  mother 
to  adopt  a  cast-iron  policy  of  indiscriminate  approval  of 
pastor  or  teacher,  although  that  is  often  recommended. 
Do  you  remember  your  resentment  as  a  child  of  the  inflex- 
ible judgment  "The  teacher  must  be  right"?  Really 
there  is  no  "must"  about  it,  and  the  child  knows  that  as 
well  as  we.  The  mother,  therefore,  who  is  able  to  review 
the  matter  in  dispute  calmly,  justly,  and  withal  sym- 
pathetically, and  who  indorses  the  teacher's  action  after 
such  review,  is  a  better  conserver  of  the  public  peace  than 
the  prejudging  mother. 

Or  suppose  she  fails  to  indorse  the  teacher's  course. 
We  have  always  been  led  to  expect  that  this  failure  ruins 
forever  the  teacher's  influence  with  the  child.  There 
are  some  of  us,  however,  who  doubt  the  immediate 
destruction  of  a  wise  influence,  even  if  we  should  say, 
"No,  I  do  not  think  I  should  have  punished  you  in  just 
that  way.  But  perhaps  you  have  not  told  me  all  that 
occurred.  Or  perhaps  you  overlook  the  fact  that  you  had 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  65 

annoyed  Miss until,  being  human  like  the  rest 

of  us,  she  lost  her  temper.  Is  it  fair  for  you  to  treat  your 
teacher  in  such  a  way  that  you  cause  her  to  lose  her  self- 
control?"  It  is  usually  possible  for  the  wise  mother  to 
turn  her  fire  upon  the  child's  own  error  without  outraging 
the  childish  sense  of  justice  by  indorsing  something  which 
does  not  really  deserve  indorsement. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  way  in  which  the  mother  of  a 
family  can  do  so  much  for  the  community  institutions  as 
by  keeping  up  her  own  interest  in  them  and  thus  stimu- 
lating the  other  members  of  the  family  to  a  willingness 
to  do  their  part  in  the  work  of  uplift.  Where  everybody 
is  really  interested  and  working,  the  first  great  stumbling 
block  in  the  way  of  public  enterprises  has  already  been 
surmounted. 

In  the  case  of  the  school,  however,  the  well-trained 
mother  will  find  additional  work  to  do.  We  who  have 
been  teachers  know  how  vainly  we  have  sought  for  inti- 
mate acquaintance  on  the  part  of  parents  with  the  school. 
And  we  who  have  been  mothers  know  something  of  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  gaining  such  intimate  acquaint- 
ance. In  spite  of,  or  perhaps  because  of,  my  long  years 
of  schoolroom  experience,  I  am  quite  unable  to  conquer 
my  reluctance  to  knock  at  a  classroom  door.  There  is 
an  aloofness  about  being  a  school  visitor  which  most 
mothers  feel  and  few  enjoy.  However,  it  is  possible  to 
gain  so  much  of  sympathetic  understanding  by  persistent 
visiting  that  I  have  found  it  worth  while  to  disregard  my 
reluctance. 

So  often  we  hear  mothers  say,  "I  try  to  visit  school  at 
least  once  each  year."  I  wonder  if  they  ever  think  of 
that  one  visit  as  an  injustice  to  the  teacher?  Suppose 
that,  as  is  quite  probable,  the  visitor  arrives  at  an  inop- 
portune moment,  finding  the  children  in  the  midst  of 


66 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


work  which  won't  "show  off,"  or  the  air  heavy  with  the 
echoes  of  a  disciplinary  encounter,  or  the  children  restless 
as  the  session  draws  to  a  close,  or  dull  and  listless  from 
the  heat  of  an  unusually  hot  dav.  What  the  visitor  needs 


Mothers  visiting  a  school  garden.     Mothers  need  to  visit  tht  schools 

often  in  order  to  know  something  of  the  problems  to 

be  met  and  solved  by  the  teachers 

to  do  is  not  to  visit  once  a  year,  but  to  get  acquainted 
with  the  school  as  she  does  with  her  next-door  neighbor 
or  her  mother-in-law.  Having  done  this,  she  may  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  parent-teacher  association  with  a 
consciousness  of  knowing  something  of  the  problems  to 
be  met  and  solved.  Until  she  has  formed  such  acquaint- 
ance she  deals  with  unknown  quantities  and  is  therefore 
in  danger  of  erroneous  conclusions. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  completely  both  teacher  and 
pupils  take  to  their  hearts  the  mother  who  really  does  get 
acquainted  them.  How  easy  it  is  to  appeal  to  her  for 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  67 

advice  and  help;  and  what  a  sense  of  familiar  ownership 
she  comes  to  have  in  the  school.  It  is  no  longer  merely 
"what  my  child  is  learning"  or  whether  "my  children  are 
getting  what  they  ought  to  get  in  school,"  but  rather 
"what  we  are  doing  in  our  school." 

The  activities  of  women  in  the  church  usually  follow 
along  well-worn  paths.  The  women  help  as  they  have 
always  helped  by  their  attendance  at  service,  by  their 
ladies'  aid  society  or  guild,  by  their  missionary  society, 
and  by  their  aid  to  the  poor  of  the  town.  Many  strug- 
gling churches  depend  almost  solely  upon  their  women's 
work  for  support.  That  the  woman  whose  problems  we 
are  studying  should  enter  upon  her  church  duties  armed 
with  wisdom  is  quite  as  necessary  as  that  she  should  be 
earnest  and  enthusiastic.  The  church  is  not  primarily 
a  neighborhood  social  center.  It  is  first  of  all  a  means 
for  spiritual  uplift.  It  must  not,  in  a  multiplicity  of 
humanitarian  activities,  lose  its  character  of  spiritual 
guide.  Its  women  will  therefore  be  animated  by  a  spirit- 
ual conception  of  the  church  and  will  base  their  activities 
in  church  work  upon  such  a  conception.  The  church 
built  upon  such  a  foundation  will  be  foremost  among 
local  forces  devoted  to  community  service  and  will  be  a 
true  force  in  the  individual  lives  of  its  people.  The 
women  of  the  church  need  to  use  the  church  as  an  effec- 
tive instrument  for  community  betterment — not  merely 
material  welfare,  but  actual  increase  in  spiritual  worth. 
Perfunctory  church  attendance  has  little  part  in  such  a 
program.  It  calls  rather  for  intelligent  understanding  of 
church  problems  and  an  application  of  spiritual  ideals  to 
everyday  life. 

Outside  the  organizations  common  to  all  communities 
the  homekeeper  finds  that  she  must  keep  in  touch  with 
her  particular  neighborhood  through  its  social  life.  It 


68  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

is  here  that  her  children  are  growing  up,  here  that  they 
find  their  friends,  here  that  they  give  and  take  knowledge 
of  themselves,  of  people,  of  ways  to  enjoy  life  and  to 
meet  its  problems.  Here  perhaps  they  will  find  their 
life  mates  and  will  start  out  to  be  homemakers  them- 
selves. The  mother  of  a  family  must  know  her  com- 
munity thoroughly.  She  must  do  her  share  toward 
making  it  a  safe  place  and  a  pleasant  place  in  which  her 
children  and  other  children  may  grow  up,  and  in  which 
she  and  her  husband,  other  women  and  their  husbands, 
may  spend  their  lives.  The  mother  who  knows  her 
children's  friends,  who  makes  them  welcome  at  her 
house,  who  "gets  acquainted"  with  their  qualities  good 
and  bad,  who  is  a  "big  sister"  to  them  all,  will  not  find 
herself  shut  out  from  her  children's  social  life.  If  all  the 
mothers  were  "big  sisters"  and  all  the  fathers  were  "big 
brothers,"  neighborhood  society  would  be  a  safer  thing 
than  it  sometimes  is. 

Nor  should  all  the  social  life  center  about  the  young 
people.  The  woman's  club,  the  village  improvement 
society,  the  men's  civic  league,  all  have  their  places. 
Club  life  will  menace  neither  the  man  nor  the  woman 
whose  first  interest  is  the  home;  and  every  man  and 
woman  needs  the  stimulus  of  contact  with  other  minds. 

Sometimes  it  will  happen  that  the  homemaker  finds 
work  to  be  done  in  the  line  of  community  reform.  Per- 
haps the  roads  are  out  of  repair,  or  the  cemetery  is  neg- 
lected, or  the  school  building  insanitary.  Perhaps  the 
water  supply  is  not  properly  guarded,  or  milk  inspection 
not  thoroughly  looked  after.  Perhaps  industrial  condi- 
tions in  the  town  are  not  what  they  should  be.  Perhaps 
laws  are  not  being  enforced.  New  conditions  require  new 
laws.  There  may  be  loafing  places  on  streets  and  in 
stores  which  are  dangerous.  The  billiard  halls  may  need 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A   road  in  DeKalb,  Illinois,  before  improvements  were  made. 

Through  the  agency  of  improvement  societies,  homemakers 

may  often  bring  about  community  reforms 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

The  same  road  after  repairs  were  made  through  the  efforts  of 
members  of  the  community 


70  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

a  thorough  moral  cleaning  and  a  moral  man  placed  in 
charge.  The  public  dance  halls  may  need  proper  chaper- 
onage.  The  moving  pictures  need  state  and  national 
censorship  to  eliminate  the  careless  suggestions  leading 
toward  both  vice  and  crime.  The  homemaker  must 
know  under  such  circumstances  how  to  stir  public  opin- 
ion, how  to  make  use  of  her  existing  organizations,  how  to 
set  on  foot  the  various  movements  necessary  for  reform. 
In  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  homemaker 's 
place  in  the  community  we  must  return  to  the  thought 
of  woman  as  the  buyer  for  the  home  and  of  her  consequent 
influence  upon  the  economic  standards  of  the  community. 
It  is  not  unusual  in  these  days  to  read  or  hear  such  state- 
ments as  the  following:  "The  woman  was  no  longer 
producer  and  consumer She  became  the  con- 
sumer and  her  entire  economic  function  changed 

The  housewife  is  the  buying  agent  for  the  home."  Like 
many  statements  in  regard  to  woman  and  her  function, 
this  seems  overdrawn,  since  woman  in  her  capacity  as 
homemaker  is  still  a  producer  as  well  as  a  consumer  in 
thousands  of  cases.  That  she  will  become,  economically, 
merely  a  buying  agent,  some  of  us  not  only  doubt,  but 
should  consider  a  certain  misfortune,  should  it  occur. 
The  fact  remains,  however,  that  as  buyer  of  both  raw 
materials  and  finished  products  the  woman  spends  a 
very  large  percentage  (some  say  nine-tenths)  of  the  money 
taken  in  by  the  retail  merchants  of  the  country.  This 
gives,  or  should  give  her,  a  commanding  position  in  the 
producing  world.  If  the  women  of  America  should 
definitely  decide  to-day  that  they  would  buy  no  more 
corn  flakes,  or  mercerized  crochet  cotton,  or  silk  elastic, 
the  factories  now  so  busy  turning  out  these  products 
would  be  shut  down  to-morrow  until  they  could  be 
converted  to  other  uses.  Women  often  fail  to  realize  their 


Running  the  Domestic  Machinery  7 1 

power  in  this  direction.  When  they  do  realize  it,  they 
are  able  to  accomplish  quietly  all  sorts  of  reforms  in  the 
mercantile  and  industrial  worlds.  There  need  be  no 
crusade  against  adulterated  foods  other  than  real  educa- 
tion and  the  refusal  of  homemakers  to  buy  from  mer- 
chants who  carry  them  in  stock.  The  same  remedy 
will  apply  to  overworked  and  underpaid  workers,  to 
insanitary  shops  and  factories.  That  it  is  the  woman's 
duty  to  control  these  matters  is  a  necessary  conclusion 
when  we  consider  her  power  as  the  "  spender  of  the  family 
income."  Who  else  has  this  power  as  she  has  it? 

We  have  already  noted  how  this  power  might  be  used 
to  regulate  not  only  the  quality  but  the  character  of  prod- 
ucts in  the  factories.  If  women  merely  passed  by  the 
outlandish  hats,  the  high  heels,  the  hobble  skirts,  of 
fashion,  their  stay  would  necessarily  be  short.  The 
woman,  therefore,  if  she  choose,  is  absolutely  the  con- 
troller of  production  along  most  lines  of  food  and  raiment. 
That  she  shall  use  this  controlling  power  wisely  is  one  of 
her  obligations.  And  to  meet  the  obligation  she  must 
be  wisely  trained. 

It  would  seem  that  the  homemaker,  as  we  have  con- 
ceived her,  has  a  part  in  most  of  the  concerns  of  the  com- 
munity. We  speak  of  "woman  and  citizenship."  To 
many  this  means,  perhaps,  "woman  and  suffrage." 
Woman  in  politics  is  already  an  accomplished  fact  in 
fourteen  western  states.  Suffrage  has  been  granted  her 
in  the  state  of  New  York.  That  her  political  influence 
will  widen  seems  a  foregone  conclusion.  She  must 
therefore  be  prepared  for  real  service  in  civic  concerns. 
Women  have  already  applied  their  housecleaning  knowl- 
edge and  skill  to  the  smaller  near-by  problems  of  civic 
life.  As  time  goes  on  they  must  render  the  same  service 
to  state  and  nation. 


72  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

We  shall  soon  see  nation-wide  "votes  for  women," 
in  our  own  country,  at  least.  But  whether  we  do  or 
not,  or  until  we  do,  woman  and  citizenship  are,  as 
they  have  always  been,  closely  linked  together.  In  every 
community  relation  the  homemaker  is  the  good,  or 
indifferent,  or  bad  citizen;  and  in  every  home  relation 
she  is  the  citizen  still,  and,  more  than  that,  the  mother 
of  future  citizens. 

In  spite  of  the  "uneasy  women"  who  feel  that  the 
home  offers  insufficient  scope  for  their  intellectual  powers, 
the  executive  a"bility  required  to  run  a  home  smoothly 
and  well  is  of  no  mean  order.  "This  being  a  mother  is  a 
complicated  business,"  as  one  mother  of  my  acquaintance 
expresses  it.  Can  we  afford  to  have  homemaking  under- 
rated as  a  vocation,  to  be  avoided  or  entered  into  lightly, 
often  with  neither  natural  aptitude  nor  training  to  serve 
as  guide  to  the  "complications"?  It  would  seem  not. 
We  must  then  consider  "guidance  toward  homemaking" 
as  a  necessary  part  of  a  girl's  education  and  as  a  possible 
solution  of  the  home  problems  on  every  hand. 

We  have  thus  far  in  this  book  concerned  ourselves  with 
making  plain  our  ideal  of  girlhood  and  womanhood  and 
with  considering  the  problems  which  our  girl  and  woman, 
when  we  have  done  our  best  to  prepare  her,  will  have  to 
meet.  We  have  thus  far  not  concerned  ourselves  with 
the  questions  of  how,  when,  and  where  the  work  of 
preparation  is  to  be  done.  A  clear  vision  of  the  end  to 
be  attained,  not  obscured  by  thought  of  the  means  used 
in  reaching  it,  seems  a  necessity.  From  this  we  may 
pass  on  to  careful,  detailed  consideration  of  agencies  and 
methods.  Knowing  what  we  desire  our  girls  to  be,  we 
may  enlist  all  the  forces  which  react  upon  girls  to  make 
them  into  what  we  desire. 


PART   II 
GUIDING   GIRLS  TOWARD  THE  IDEAL 


".4  -vocational  guide  is  one  who  helps  other  people 
to  find  themselves.  Vocational  guidance  is  the 
science  of  this  self -discovery.'' 


CHAPTER   V 
THE  EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES  INVOLVED 

THE  three  agencies  most  vitally  concerned  in  this 
problem  of  "woman  making"  are  necessarily  the 
home,  the  church,  and  the  school  —  the  home  and  the 
church,  because  of  their  vital  interest  in  the  personal 
result;  the  school,  because,  whatever  public  opinion  has 
demanded,  schools  have  never  been  able  to  turn  out 
merely  educated  human  beings,  but  always  boys  and 
girls,  prospective  men  and  women.  And  so  they  must 
continue  to  do.  Nature  reasserts  itself  with  every  coming 
generation.  This  being  so,  we  must  continue  to  "make 
women."  If  we  desire  to  make  homemaking  women, 
the  most  economical  way  to  accomplish  this  is  to  use  the 
already  existing  machinery  for  making  women  of  some 
sort.  We  cannot  begin  too  soon,  nor  continue  our 
efforts  too  faithfully.  The  school  cannot  leave  the  whole 
matter  to  the  home,  nor  can  the  home  safely  assume 
that  the  "domestic  science"  course  or  courses  will  do  all 
that  is  needed  for  the  girl.  Being  a  woman  is  a  com- 
plex, many-sided  business  for  which  training  must  be 
broad  and  long- continued. 

The  teacher  has  perhaps  scarcely  realized  her  respon- 
sibilities or  her  opportunities  in  this  matter.  For  years, 
and  in  fact  until  very  recently,  the  whole  tendency 
in  education  for  girls  has  been  toward  a  training  which 
ignores  sex  and  ultimate  destiny.  The  teachers  them- 
selves were  so  trained  and  are  therefore  the  less 
prepared  to  see  the  necessity  for  any  special  teaching 

75 


7  6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

along  these  lines.  They  may 'even  resent  any  demand 
for  specialized  instruction  for  girls. 

Yet  we  are  confronted  by  the  fact  that  the  majority 
of  girls  do  marry,  and  that  many  of  this  majority  are 
woefully  lacking  in  the  knowledge  and  training  they 
should  have.  Nor  are  these  girls  exclusively  from  the 
poor  and  ignorant  classes.  There  is  no  question  about 
the  responsibility  of  the  school  in  the  matter.  The  state 
which  "trains  for  citizenship"  cannot  logically  ignore  the 
necessity  for  training  the  mothers  of  future  citizens. 

"While  I  sympathize  profoundly  with  the  claim  of 
woman  for  every  opportunity  which  she  can  fill,"  says 
G.  Stanley  Hall  in  Adolescence,  "and  yield  to  none  in 
appreciation  of  her  ability,  I  insist  that  the  cardinal 
defect  in  the  woman's  college  is  that  it  is  based  upon  the 
assumption,  implied  and  often  expressed,  if  not  almost 
universally  acknowledged,  that  girls  should  primarily 
be  trained  to  independence  and  self-support;  and  matri- 
mony and  motherhood,  if  it  come,  will  take  care  of 
itself,  or,  as  some  even  urge,  is  thus  best  provided  for." 
This  criticism  of  existing  educational  conditions  is  quite 
as  applicable  to  schools  for  younger  girls  as  to  those  which 
Dr.  Hall  has  in  mind.  There  is  no  reason  why  both 
school  and  college  may  not  fit  girls  for  a  broad  and  general 
usefulness,  for  "independence  and  self-support,"  and  at 
the  same  time  give  them  the  training  for  that  which, 
with  the  majority  already  mentioned,  comes  to  be  the 
great  work  of  their  lives. 

Through  all  the  lower  grades  of  school  life,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  through  the  whole  course,  the  methods  of 
instruction  used  will  be  largely  indirect.  The  child  will 
seldom  be  told,  "This  is  to  teach  you  how  to  keep  house." 
I  can  think  of  no  field  in  which  this  indirect  method  will 
produce  greater  results  than  the  one  we  are  considering. 


The  Educational  Agencies  Involved 


77 


Montavilla  School  garden,  Portland,  Oregon,  where  boys  and  girls  raise 

vegetables  for  serving  in  the  lunchroom.     Here  the  science  of  growing 

things  is  taught  as  part  of  the  "  training  for  citizenship11 


Lunchroom  where  vegetables  grown  in  the  Montavilla  School 
garden  are  prepared  and  eaten 


7  8  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

The  teacher,  in  most  cases,  must  begin  her  home- 
making  training  by  realizing  that  her  own  example  is 
by  the  very  nature  of  things  opposed  to  the  homemaking 
principle,  the  unmarried  teacher  being  the  rule  in  most 
of  our  schools.  Her  first  care,  then,  must  be  to  counter- 
act her  own  example.  Her  references  to  home  life  must 
be  always  of  the  most  appreciative  and  even  reverent 


tosraph  by  Brown  Bros. 


A    model   school  home.     One  way  of  teaching  children  how  to 

"keep  house"  is  by  means  of  the  model  home  where  they  are 

given  instruction  in  all  the  duties  of  the  homemaker 

sort.  If,  as  is  quite  possible,  she  comes  from  unsatis- 
factory conditions  in  her  own  home,  she  must  be  doubly 
careful  lest  her  prejudices  be  passed  on  to  her  pupils. 
She  will  find  ways  in  which  to  let  it  be  understood  that 
her  ideals  of  home  life  are  not  wanting,  although  she  has 
not  as  yet  —  perhaps  for  some  reason  never  will — become  a 
homemaker.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  teachers,  in 
their  effort  to  impress  children  in  more  direct  ways,  lose 
sight  of  the  great  effect  of  their  unconscious  influence. 


The  Educational  Agencies  Involved 


79 


Canning  tomatoes  at  the  Montavilla  School.     In  such  a  class  the 

mothers  of  future  citizens  are  given  training  in  one  of  the 

fundamental  needs  of  the  home — scientific  cooking 


Lunchroom  where  children  benefit  by  the  scientific  cooking  of  the 
vegetables  they  grow 


8o  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

After  all,  it  is  what  the  teacher  does,  rather  than  what  she 
says,  that  impresses;  and  what  she  is,  regulates  what  she 
does.  The  teacher  must,  therefore,  have  the  right 
attitude  toward  homemaking  and  domestic  life.  It 
may  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  determining  the  force 
of  her  influence  in  this  direction  for  the  children  to  catch 
intimate  little  glimpses  of  her  domestic  accomplishments, 
of  her  sewing,  or  of  her  cooking,  or  of  her  quick  knowledge 
and  deft  handling  of  emergency  cases.  The  teacher  whose 
influence  is  felt  most  and  lasts  longest  is  the  one  whose 
"motherliness"  supplements  her  academic  acquirements 
and  supplies  a  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  child. 

With  innate  motherliness  as  a  basis,  the  teacher  must 
build  up  a  careful  understanding  not  only  of  child  nature, 
but  of  man  and  woman  nature  as  the  developed  product 
of  child  growth.  She  must  be  a  student  of  the  "woman 
question"  as  a  vital  problem,  always  recognizing  that  the 
whole  social  structure  inevitably  depends  upon  the  status 
of  woman  in  the  world.  She  must  face  without  flinching 
her  responsibilities  in  sex  matters.  She  may,  or  may 
not,  be  called  upon  to  furnish  sex  instruction  to  the 
girls  under  her  care,  but  no  rules  can  free  her  from  her 
moral  responsibility  in  striving  to  keep  the  sex  atmosphere 
clean  and  invigorating.  The  "conspiracy  of  silence"  on 
these  subjects  is  broken,  and  we  must  accept  the  fact 
that  modesty  does  not  require  an  assumed  or  a  real  igno- 
rance of  the  most  wonderful  of  nature's  laws.  "The  idea 
that  celibacy  is  the  '  aristocracy  of  the  future '  is  soundly 
based  if  the  Business  of  Being  a  Woman  rests  on  a  mys- 
tery so  questionable  that  it  cannot  be  frankly  and  truth- 
fully explained  by  a  girl's  mother  the  moment  her  interest 
and  curiosity  seek  satisfaction."1  And  what  the  mother 
should  tell,  the  teacher  must  know. 

1  Ida  M.  Tarbell,    The  Business  of  Being  a  Woman. 


The  Educational  Agencies  Involved 


81 


Practical  use  of  the  teacher's  carefully  worked- out 
theories  will  be  made  all  along  the  line  of  the  girl's,  and 
to  a  certain  degree  the  boy's,  education.  The  indirect 
teaching  of  the  primary  grades  will  give  place  in  the 
higher  grades  to  more  direct  dealing  with  the  science,  or, 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


Mothers'  and  daughters1  meeting  on  sewing  day.     Cooperation 

between  the  home  and  the  school  makes  for  the  best 

teaching  of  domestic  science 

better,  sciences,  upon  which  homemaking  rests.  The 
classroom  becomes  a  "school  of  theory."  The  home 
stands  in  the  equally  vital  position  of  a  laboratory  in 
which  the  girl  sees  the  theory  worked  out  and  in  time 
performs  her  own  experiments.  The  finest  teaching 
presupposes  perfect  cooperation  between  school  and 
home. 

The  first  duty  of  the  mother,  like  that  of  the  teacher, 
is  to  preserve  always  a  right  attitude  toward  home  life. 
The  girl  who  grows  up  in  an  ideal  home  will  be  likely  to 
loo'k  forward  to  making  such  a  home  some  day.  Or,  if 


82  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

the  home  is  not  in  all  respects  ideal,  the  father  or  mother 
who  nevertheless  recognizes  ideal  homes  as  possible  may 
show  the  girl  directly  or  otherwise  how  to  avoid  the 
mischance  of  a  less  than  perfect  home. 

The  prevalence  of  divorce  places  before  young  men  and 
women  sad  examples  of  mismating,  of  incompetent  home- 
makers,  of  wrecked  homes.  We  can  scarcely  estimate  the 
blow  struck  at  ideals  of  marriage  in  the  minds  of  girls 
and  boys  by  these  flaunted  failures.  Nor  can  we  even 
guess  how  many  boys  and  girls  are  led  to  a  cynical  attitude 
toward  all  marriage  by  their  daily  suffering  in  families 
where  parents  have  missed  the  real  meaning  of  "home." 
However  practical  we  may  become,  therefore  —  and  we 
must  be  practical  in  this  matter — we  must  never  overlook 
the  need  for  parents  to  give  home  life  an  atmosphere  of 
charm.  No  one  else  can  take  their  place  in  doing  this. 
Hence  it  is  their  first  duty  to  make  homemaking  seem 
worth  while. 

The  home  must  take  the  lead  also  in  giving  the  idea  of 
homemaking  as  a  definite  and  scientific  profession.  The 
school  may  teach  the  science,  but  unless  the  home 
shows  practical  application  of  the  scientific  principles,  it 
would  be  much  like  teaching  agriculture  without  show- 
ing results  upon  real  soil.  Skillful  teachers  recognize  the 
home  as  a  valuable  adjunct  to  their  school  equipment 
and  are  able  by  wise  cooperation  to  use  it  to  its  full  value. 

The  home,  in  its  character  of  laboratory  for  the  school 
of  domestic  theory,  must  possess  certain  qualifications. 
Like  all  laboratories,  it  should  be  well  equipped.  This 
does  not  mean  necessarily  with  expensive  outfit,  but 
with  at  least  the  best  that  means  will  allow.  It  implies 
that  the  home  shall  be  recognized  as  a  teaching  institution 
quite  as  much  as  the  school.  Like  other  laboratories, 
it  must  be  a  place  of  experiment,  not  merely  a  preserver 


The  Educational  Agencies  Invoked 


Courtesy  of  L.  A.  Alderman 

First  crop  of  radishes  and  lettuce  at  the  Alameda  Park  School,  Portland, 

Oregon,  June,  1016.     Even  in  the  primary  grades  children  may 

learn  much  about  the  science  of  growing  things 


Bringing  exhibits  to  a  school  fair  in  Tacoma,  Washington.     Skillful 

teachers  who  recognize  the  home  as  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  school 

equipment  encourage  the  children  to  make  gardens  at  home 


84  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

of  tradition.  The  efficient  laboratory  presupposes  an 
informed  and  open-minded  presiding  genius. 

The  greatest  service  that  the  home  can  render  in  the 
cause  of  training  girls  for  homemaking  is  probably  close, 
painstaking  study  of  its  own  individual  girl — her  likes, 
dislikes,  aptitudes,  and  limitations.  Home-mindedness 
shows  itself  nowhere  so  much  as  in  the  home;  lack  of 
home-mindedness  shows  there  quite  as  much.  The 
results  of  such  study  should  throw  great  light  upon  the 
problem  of  the  girl's  future.  Combined  with  the  observa- 
tions recorded  by  her  teacher  during  year  after  year  of 
the  girl's  school  life,  this  study  offers  the  strongest  argu- 
ments for  or  against  this  or  that  career.  Frequent  and 
sympathetic  conferences  between  parent  and  teacher 
become  a  necessity.  There  is  then  less  likelihood  of 
opposing  counsel  when  the  girl  seeks  guidance  toward  her 
life  work. 

It  is  quite  probable  that,  while  the  school  undertakes 
to  lay  a  general  foundation  for  homemaking  efficiency, 
the  home,  when  it  reaches  the  full  measure  of  its  power 
and  responsibility,  will  be  best  fitted  to  help  the  girl  to 
specialize  in  the  direction  most  suited  to  her  individual 
power.  It  can,  if  it  will,  give  the  girl  individual  oppor- 
tunities such  as  the  mere  fact  of  numbers  forbids  the 
school  to  give. 

The  special  work  of  the  church  in  training  the  girl  is 
necessarily  that  which  has  to  do  with  her  spiritual  concept 
of  life,  the  strengthening  of  her  moral  fiber.  Here  school, 
home,  and  church  must  each  contribute  its  share.  None 
of  them  can  undertake  alone  so  important  and  delicate 
a  task.  Any  attempt  to  make  arbitrary  divisions  in  the 
work  of  these  three  agencies  is  bound  to  be  at  least  a 
partial  failure.  Conditions  differ  so  widely  that  we  can 
only  say  of  much  of  the  work,  "at  school  or  church  or  in 


The  Educational  Agencies  Involved  85 

the  home,"  or,  better,  "at  school  and  church  and  home 
in  cooperation."  Each  must  supplement  the  efforts  of 
the  other,  and  where  one  fails,  the  other  must  take  up 
the  task.  It  really  matters  little  where  the  work  is  done, 
provided  that  it  is  done.  The  ensuing  chapters  of  this 
book  are  written  in  the  hope  that  they  may  bring  the  vital 
problems  of  girl  training  and  girl  guidance  home  to  both 
teacher  and  parent ;  and  especially  that  they  may  convince 
both  of  the  value  of  cooperation  in  the  inspiring  work 
of  helping  our  daughters  to  make  the  most  of  their  lives. 


CHAPTER   VI 
TRAINING  THE  LITTLE  CHILD 

" CHILDREN    are    the    home's    highest    product." 

v»y  That  means  at  the  outset  that  we  have  children 
because  we  believe  in  them,  and  that  we  train  them, 
as  the  skilled  workman  shapes  his  wood  and  clay,  to 
achieve  the  greatest  result  of  which  the  human  material 
is  capable. 

A  factory's  output  can  be  standardized.  An  engine's 
power  can  be  measured.  But  he  who  trains  a  child  can 
never  fully  know  the  mind  he  works  with  nor  the  result 
he  attains.  We  do  know,  however,  that  if  it  is  subject 
to  certain  influences,  trained  by  certain  laws,  the  chances 
are  that  this  mind  which  we  cannot  fully  know  will  react 
in  a  certain  way. 

To  attempt  in  a  chapter  to  outline  a  system  of  training 
for  children  would  be  an  attempt  doomed  to  certain 
failure.  Books  are  written  on  this  subject,  and  the 
shelves  of  the  child-study  and  child-training  department 
in  the  libraries  are  rapidly  filling.  What  I  have  in  mind 
here  is  rather  a  single  line  of  the  child's  development — 
that  which  leads  toward  making  him  a  useful  factor  in 
the  home  life  of  which  he  forms  a  part.  The  boy  or  girl 
who  fills  successfully  a  place  in  the  home  of  his  childhood 
will  be  in  a  fair  way  to  undertake  successfully  the  greater 
task  of  founding  a  home  of  his  own. 

In  the  days  of  infancy  and  early  childhood,  training 
for  boys  and  girls  may  be  more  nearly  identical  than  in 
later  life.  A  large  part  of  the  differentiation  in  the  work 
and  play  of  little  boys  and  girls  would  seem  to  be  quite 

86 


Training  the  Little  Child 


artificial.  We  give  dolls  to  girls  and  drums  to  boys,  but 
only  because  of  some  preconceived  notion  of  our  own. 
The  girls  will  drum  as  loudly  and  the  boys  care  for  the 
baby  quite  as  tenderly,  until  some  one  ridicules  them  and 
they  learn  to  simulate  a  scorn  for  "boys'  things"  and 
"girls'  things"  which  they  do  not  really  feel. 

Throughout  this  chapter,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  assumed 
that  the  training 
suggested  is  quite 
as  applicable  and 
quite  as  necessary 
for  one  sex  as  for 
the  other. 

Young  mothers 
sometimes  ask 
the  family  doctor, 
"When  shall  I  be- 
gin to  train  the 
baby  to  eat  at  reg- 
ular intervals,  to 
go  to  sleep  without 
rocking,  in  general 
to  accept  the  plan 
of  life  we  outline 
for  him?"  The 
answer  seldom 
varies:  "Before 
he  is  twenty-four 
hours  old."  It  is 
therefore  evident 
that  all  the  basic 
principles  of  living,  whether  physical  or  mental,  must 
have  their  foundations  far  back  in  the  child's  young  life. 

As  a  basis  for  'all  the  rest,  we  must  work  for  health. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Helping  with  the  housework.  The  boy  or  girl 
who  successfully  fills  a  place  in  the  home  of 
his  childhood  will  be  in  a  fair  way  to  under- 
take successfully  the  greater  task  of  founding 
a  home  of  his  or  her  own 


88 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


A  truly  successful  life,  rounded  and  full,  presupposes 
health.  Regular  habits,  nourishing  food,  plenty  of  sleep, 
are  axiomatic  in  writings  treating  of  the  care  of  young 
children,  yet  it  is  surprising  how  often  these  rules  are 
violated.  "It  is  easier"  to  give  the  child  what  he  wants 
or  what  the  others  are  having;  easier  to  let  him  sit  up 
than  to  put  him  to  bed ;  easier  to  regard  the  moment  than 

the  years  ahead. 
Aside  from  the 
physical  foundation, 
the  training  that  we 
are  to  give  our  little 
children  will  prob- 
ably be  based  upon 
our  conception  of 
what  they  need  to 
make  them  good 
sons  and  daughters, 
good  brothers  and 
sisters,  good  friends, 
good  husbands  and 
wives,  and  good 
fathers  and  mothers. 
In  other  words,  it 
is  the  social  aspect 
of  life  that  we  have 
in  mind,  and  our 
social  ideals.  What- 
ever the  boy  "wants 
to  be  when  he  grows 
up,"  he  is  sure'  to  have  social  relations  with  his  kind. 
Whether  the  girl  marries  or  remains  single,  she  cannot 
entirely  escape  these  relations.  Indeed  they  are  thrust 
upon  both  boy  and  girl  already.  What  then  do  they 


Already  well  started  on  his  education 


Training  the  Little  Child  89 

need  to  enable  them  to  be  successful  in  the  human 
relations  of  living? 

We  might  enumerate  here  a  long  list  of  virtues  that  will 
help,  but,  since  long  lists  shatter  concentration,  let  us 
narrow  them  to  four:  (i)  sympathy,  (2)  self-control, 
(3)  unselfishness,  (4)  industry. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that,  with  these  four  qualities 
only,  a  man  will  make  a  successful  merchant  or  farmer, 
or  that  a  woman  will  become  a  good  housekeeper  or  a 
skillful  teacher.  But  I  do  mean  that  in  family  relations 
these  four  qualities  are  worth  more  than  intellectual 
attainments  or  any  sort  of  manual  skill.  It  is  really 
astonishing  to  see  how  much  these  four  will  cover.  We 
desire  thrift — what  is  thrift  but  self-control?  Tolerance 
— what  but  sympathy  —  the  "put  yourself  in  his  place" 
feeling?  Courtesy — what  but  unselfishness? 

Let  us,  then,  in  the  child's  early  years  concentrate  upon 
sympathy,  self-control,  unselfishness,  and  industry.  You 
will  doubtless  remember  Cabot's  summary  of  the  four 
requirements  of  man1 — work,  play,  love,  and  worship. 
Suppose  we  could  write  on  the  wall  of  every  nursery 
in  the  land: 


Sympathy 
Self-control 
Unselfishness 
Industry 


in 


Work 
Play 
Love 
Worship 


Would  not  this  writing  on  the  wall  be  a  fruitful  reminder 
to  the  mothers  ? 

The  period  of  early  childhood  is  the  one  in  which  the 
home  may  act  with  least  interference  as  the  child's  teacher. 
Later,  whether  she  will  or  no,  the  mother  must  share  the 
work  of  training  with  the  school,  the  church,  and  that 
indefinite  influence  we  class  vaguely  as  society.  During 

1  Cabot,  What  Men  Live  By. 


go  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

these  few  early  years,  then,  the  mother  must  use  her 
opportunity  well.  It  will  soon  be  gone. 

How  shall  she  teach  such  abstract  virtues  as  sympathy, 
unselfishness,  self-control?  Recognizing  the  fact  that  the 
little  child  acts  merely  as  his  instinct  and  feelings  prompt, 
she  must  make  all  training  at  this  stage  of  his  life  take  the 
form  of  developing  the  instincts.  Probably  the  strongest 
of  these  at  this  time  is  imitation.  Consequently  most  of 
the  teaching  must  take  advantage  of  the  imitative  instinct. 
The  first  care  should  be  to  surround  the  child  with  the 
qualities  we  desire  him  to  possess.  The  mother  who 
scolds,  gives  way  to  temper,  or  is  unwilling  or  unable  to 
control  her  own  emotions  and  acts  can  hope  for  little  self- 
control  in  her  child.  In  the  same  way  the  father  who 
kicks  the  dog  or  lashes  his  horse  or  is  hard  and  cold  in  his 
dealings  with  his  family  may  expect  only  that  his  child 
will  begin  life  by  imitating  his  undesirable  qualities. 
This  necessary  supervision  of  the  child's  environment  is 
a  strong  argument  for  direct  oversight  of  little  children 
by  the  mother.  It  is  often  difficult  even  for  her  to  keep 
an  ideal  example  before  the  child;  and  if  she  leaves  it  to 
hired  caretakers,  they  seldom  realize  its  necessity  or  are 
willing  to  take  the  pains  she  would  herself.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  the  young  and  ignorant  girls  who  are  often 
seen  in  sole  charge  of  little  children. 

This  first  step  being  merely  passive  education,  it  is  not 
enough.  We  must  not  only  set  an  example;  we  must  go 
farther  and  strive  to  get  from  the  child  acts  or  attitudes 
of  mind  based  upon  these  examples. 

Let  us  take  first  the  quality  of  sympathy,  which  is 
closely  allied  to  reflex  imitation.  It  is  difficult  to  say 
just  when  the  child  merely  reflects  the  emotions  of  those 
about  him  and  when  he  consciously  thinks  of  others  as 
having  feelings  like  his  own.  This  conscious  thought  is, 


Training  the  Little  Child  9 1 

of  course,  the  foundation  of  real  sympathy,  and  it  comes 
early  in  the  child's  life — probably  before  the  fourth  year. 
A  little  girl  of  three  was  greatly  interested  and  pleased 
at  the  appearance  of  a  roast  chicken  upon  the  family 
dinner  table.  She  chattered  about  the  "birdie"  as  she 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

Stories  that  broaden  the  child's  conception  of  the  lives  and  feelings 
of  others  are  of  value  in  training  for  sympathy 

had  done  before  on  similar  occasions.  But  when  the 
carving  knife  was  lifted  over  it,  she  astonished  everyone 
by  her  terrified  cry  of  ''Don't  cut  the  birdie.  Hurt  the 
birdie."  No  explanation  or  excuse  satisfied  her,  and  it 
was  finally  necessary  to  remove  the  platter  and  have  the 
carving  done  out  of  her  sight.  Most  children  are  naturally 
sympathetic  when  they  have  experienced  or  can  imagine  the 
feelings  of  others.  The  cruelty  of  children  is  usually  due 
to  their  absorption  in  their  own  feelings  without  a  realiza- 
tion of  the  pain  they  inflict. 


92  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Training  for  sympathy  then  must  consist  of  enlarge- 
ment of  experience  and  cultivation  of  imagination.  Some 
mothers  do  not  talk  enough  with  their  children.  They 
talk  to  them — that  is,  they  reprimand  or  direct  them, 
but  do  not  carry  on  conversations,  as  they  might  do 
greatly  to  the  child's  advantage.  Telling  stories  is  one 
of  the  most  fruitful  methods  of  training  at  this  age.  Even 
"this  little  pig  went  to  market"  has  possibilities  in  the 
hands  of  a  skillful  mother.  The  bedtime  story  is  a  definite 
institution  in  many  families.  It  deserves  to  be  so  in  all. 
Beginning  with  the  nursery  rimes,  the  stories  will 
gradually  broaden  in  theme,  and  if  their  dramatic  possi- 
bilities are  at  all  realized  by  the  story-teller,  the  children 
will  broaden  in  their  conception  of  the  lives  and  feelings 
of  others.  Sympathy  will  thus  in  most  cases  be  a  plant 
of  natural  and  easy  growth. 

Intercourse  with  other  children  and  with  the  older 
members  of  the  child's  family  will  also  furnish  constant, 
material  for  the  thoughtful  mother.  The  baby  bumps  its 
head,  and  the  mother  soothes  it  with  gentle,  loving  words. 
It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  three-  or  four-year-old  will 
express  his  sympathy  also.  Surely  he  will  if  the  mother 
says,  "Poor  baby.  See  the  great  bump.  How  it  must 
hurt!"  Or  perhaps  "big  sister"  is  happy  on  her  birth- 
day. Again,  the  three-year-old  is  likely  to  show  happiness 
also,  and  the  wise  mother  will  help  the  child  by  a  timely 
word  to  take  the  step  from  reflex  imitation  of  happiness 
to  true  sympathy.  Nor  must  we  overlook  the  occasions 
when  some  one  in  the  nursery  has  been  "naughty"  and 
must  be  punished.  "Poor  Bobby!  He  is  sad  because  he 
cannot  play  with  us  this  morning.  He  feels  the  way  you 
did  when  you  were  naughty  and  had  to  sit  so  still  in  your 
little  chair.  I  am  sorry  for  Bobby — aren't  you?  We 
hope  he  will  be  good  next  time,  don't  we?" 


Training  the  Little  Child  93 

Teaching  self-control  is  quite  a  different  matter  from 
the  foregoing,  and  one  which  requires  infinitely  more 
work  and  patience.  The  first  step  is,  however,  the  same. 
If  you  would  have  sympathy,  show  sympathy.  If  you 
would  have  self-control  in  a  child,  control  yourself. 
Remember  the  strength  of  the  imitative  instinct.  Next, 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


.rnotograpn  oy  x>rown  j: 

Kindergarten  games  afford  the  intercourse  with  other  children 
necessary  to  the  child's  development 

strive  to  obtain  control  in  the  young  child  in  some  small 
matter  where  control  is  easy.  Any  normal  child  will 
learn  that  control  pays — if  you  make  it  pay.  Encourage 
the  hungry  child  to  stop  crying  while  you  prepare  his 
food,  but  prepare  it  quickly,  or  he  will  begin  to  cry  again 
to  make  you  hurry.  Mothers  usually  work  hard  to  teach 
control  of  bodily  functions,  but  often  far  less  to  obtain 
control  of  mental  and  moral  conditions.  Obedience,  con- 
sidered from  time  immemorial  the  chief  virtue  of  child- 
hood, is  really  only  of  value  as  it  conduces  to  self-control 


94 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


in  later  life.  The  wise  parent^  therefore,  while  requir- 
ing obedience  for  the  convenience  of  the  family  and  the 
safety  of  the  child,  will  lay  far  more  stress  upon  teaching 
the  child  to  control  himself.  The  work  must  be  done 
almost  entirely  by  indirect  methods  during  the  early 
years.  Offering  artificial  rewards  and  dealing  out  artificial 


Courtesy  of  the  United  Charities  of  Chicago 

A  group  of  children  at  the  Mary  Crane  Nursery,  Chicago.     Children 
acquire  self-control  by  learning  to  help  themselves 

punishments  are  the  crudest  forms  of  encouraging  effort. 
The  natural  reward  and  the  inevitable  natural  punish- 
ment are  far  better  when  they  can  be  employed. 

The  child  who  overcomes  his  tendency  to  play  before 
or  during  his  dressing  may  be  rewarded  by  some  special 
morning  privilege  which  will  automatically  regulate  itself. 
In  our  family  it  is  the  joyful  tasl£  of  bringing  in  and  dis- 
tributing the  morning  mail.  The  child  not  dressed  "on 
time"  necessarily  loses  the  privilege.  We  are  not  punish- 
ing, but  "we  can't  wait."  Lack  of  control  of  temper 


Training  the  Little  Child  95 

presupposes  solitude.  "People  can't  have  cross  children 
about."  Quarrels  inevitably  bring  cessation  of  group 
play  or  work — solitude  again.  The  child's  love  of  appro- 
bation may  also  be  made  of  great  assistance.  Always 
we  must  remember  that  doing  what  we  tell  him  to  do  is  not 
after  all  the  main  thing.  It  is  doing  the  right  thing,  being 
willing  to  do  the  right  thing,  and  being  able  to  hold  back 
the  impulse  to  do  the  wrong  thing,  that  count.  We  are 
working  "to  train  self-directed  agents,  not  to  make 
soldiers." 

Unselfishness  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth.  Indeed  it  is 
properly  not  a  childish  trait  at  all,  and  the  most  we  can 
probably  get  is  its  outward  seeming.  But  it  is  important 
that  we  at  least  acquaint  the  child  with  ideals  of  unselfish- 
ness. We  must  find  much  in  the  child  to  appeal  to, 
even  though  altruistic  motives  do  not  appear  until  much 
later  than  this.  The  love  of  approbation  will  prove  a 
strong  help  again,  also  the  sense  of  justice  with  which 
children  seem  endowed  from  the  beginning.  "Help  him 
because  he  helped  you,"  or  "Give  her  some  because  she 
always  gives  you  part  of  hers,"  is  often  effective.  Just 
as  in  the  case  of  self-control,  the  child  will  learn  to  over- 
come his  innate  selfishness  "if  it  pays"  to  do  so.  It 
may  seem  wrong  to  encourage  any  but  the  highest  motive, 
but  a  habit  of  unselfish  acts,  resting  upon  a  desire  to 
win  the  approbation  of  others,  is  a  better  foundation 
upon  which  to  build  than  no  foundation  at  all.  Purely 
disinterested  or  altruistic  motives  do  not  appear  in  the 
normal  child  much  before  the  age  of  adolescence,  and  by 
that  time  selfishness,  which  accords  so  well  with  the 
individualistic  instincts  of  the  child,  will  have  hardened 
into  a  fixed  habit  if  not  vigorously  checked. 

Care  must  be  taken  to  lead  the  child  toward  unselfish 
acts,  but  not  to  force  them  upon  him.  The  common 


9  6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

courtesies  of  life  we  may  require,  but,  beyond  that, 
example,  tactful  suggestion,  wisely  chosen  stories,  and 
judicious  praise  will  do  far  more  than  force. 

The  idea  of  kindness  may  be  grasped  by  young  children 
and,  together  with  the  great  ideal  of  service,  should  be 
emphasized  in  their  home  life  and  in  their  intercourse 
with  other  children.  The  "only  child"  suffers  most  from 
lack  of  opportunity  to  learn  these  two  great  needs  of  his 
best  self — kindness  and  service.  Occasions  should  be  sys- 
tematically made  for  such  a  child  (indeed  for  all  children) 
to  meet  other  children  on  some  common  ground.  Play- 
things should  be  shared,  help  given  and  received,  and  the 
idea  of  interdependence  brought  out.  "We  must  help 
each  other"  should  be  emphasized  from  early  childhood. 

Much  must  be  made  of  the  little  helps  the  child  is  able 
to  give  in  the  home — bringing  slippers  for  father,  going 
on  little  errands  about  the  house  for  mother,  picking  up 
his  own  playthings,  hanging  up  his  coat  and  hat,  caring 
for  the  welfare  of  the  family  pets.  Careful  provision 
should  be  made  for  the  child's  convenience  in  performing 
these  little  services.  There  must  be  places  for  the  toys, 
low  hooks  for  the  wraps,  and  constant  encouragement 
and  recognition  of  the  small  helper.  Some  day  he  may 
help  you  because  he  loves  to  help.  Now  he  loves  to  be 
praised  for  helping. 

Activity  is  a  natural  and  absorbing  part  of  a  child's 
life.  He  is  always  doing  something.  It  remains  for  the 
parent  to  direct  this  restless  movement  and  to  transform 
some  of  it  into  useful  labor.  Work,  in  the  sense  of 
accomplishing  results  for  the  satisfaction  and  benefit  of 
the  parent,  is  quite  foreign  to  our  plan  for  training  the 
young  child.  But  work  for  the  child's  own  satisfaction 
and  for  the  formation  of  the  habit  of  industry  must  occupy 
our  attention  in  large  measure.  The  child's  playthings 


Training  the  Little  Child 


97 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


Helping  the  little  sister.     Children  will  learn  unselfishness  and 
kindness  if  they  are  early  taught  to  help  one  another 


9  8  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

should  from  his  earliest  days  be  chosen  in  recognition  of 
his  desire  to  do  things  and  make  things.  The  shops  are 
filled  with  showy  toys,  mechanical  and  otherwise,  and 
children  find  the  toyshop  a  veritable  fairyland.  But  once 
satiated  with  the  sight  of  any  particular  toy,  however 
cunningly  devised — and  satiety  comes  soon — the  child 
forsakes  the  gorgeous  plaything  for  his  blocks,  or  paper 
and  a  pair  of  scissors,  or  even  his  mother's  clothespins. 
He  can  do  something  with  these. 

The  Montessori  materials  are  perhaps  the  most  thought- 
fully planned  in  this  direction  of  anything  now  obtainable ; 
and  no  one  having  the  care  of  young  children  should  be 
without  some  knowledge  of  this  now  famous  method. 
All  the  materials  have  this  advantage :  they  offer  definite 
problems  and  consequently  afford  the  child  the  joy  of 
accomplishment.  A  few  of  the  occupations  of  life  afford 
us  unending  enjoyment  at  every  stage  of  the  doing,  but 
not  many.  It  is  rather  the  achievement  of  our  end,  the 
"lust  of  finishing,"  which  carries  us  through  the  tiresome 
details  of  our  work.  The  child  must  therefore  be  early 
introduced  to  the  joy  of  accomplishment.  Instead  of 
unending  toys,  give  him  something  to  work  with.  He 
will  appreciate  your  thoughtfulness,  and  he  will  find  not 
only  joy  but  real  development  in  their  use. 

At  first  the  child's  work  will  consist  of  fragmentary 
efforts,  but  at  a  remarkably  early  age  he  will  show  evidence 
of  a  power  of  concentration  and  persistence  which  will 
make  possible  the  accomplishment  of  finished  undertak- 
ings. He  begins  to  know  what  he  wants  to  do  and  to 
exhibit  considerable  ingenuity  in  finding  and  combining 
materials.  Most  of  all,  he  wants  to  imitate  the  activities 
he  sees  around  him. 

In  the  strain  of  modern  life  a  widespread  restlessness 
seems  to  have  seized  mankind.  Whatever  people  do, 


Training  the  Little  Child 


99 


they  want  to  be  doing  something  else,  and  the  pathway 
of  the  average  individual  is  strewn  with  crude  beginnings, 
half-finished  jobs,  abandoned  work.  The  child  very 
easily  falls  into  line  with  this  tendency  of  his  elders. 
Hence  he  needs  definite  encouragement  to  see  clearly 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bro.s. 

Helping  in  the  home  tasks.     Wisely  directed  activity  will  teach 
the  child  both  unselfishness  and  industry 

what  he  has  in  hand  and  to  bring  his  industrial  attempts 
to  a  worth-while  conclusion.  Avoid,  even  with  a  little 
child,  that  inconsiderate  habit  of  " grown-ups"  of  calling 
the  little  worker  away  whenever  you  desire  his  attention 
or  help,  quite  regardless  of  the  damage  you  may  do  to 
his  work  by  your  untimely  interruption.  Keep  the  child, 
as  far  as  possible,  too,  from  undertaking  tasks  too  difficult 
or  requiring  too  much  time  for  completion.  Discourage 
aimless  handling  of  tools.  A  cheerful  "What  are  you 
making? "  sometimes  crystallizes  hitherto  rambling  desires. 
A  timely  suggestion  often  meets  with  enthusiastic  response. 


ioo  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

The  working  outfit  of  a  child  under  school  age  may  or 
may  not  include  kindergarten  or  Montessori  material. 
Balls,  blocks,  pencils  and  paper,  paste,  colored  crayons, 
scissors,  a  blackboard,  a  cart,  a  wheelbarrow,  stout 
little  garden  tools,  a  sand  tray  or,  better,  in  summer  an 
outdoor  sandpile,  will  furnish  endless  work  and  endless 
delight  to  a  child  or  group  of  children.  It  is  not  so  much 
what  sort  of  material  we  use  as  the  way  in  which  we  use 
it.  Even  at  this  age  the  child  longs  to  be  a  producer,  to 
"make  things";  and  his  best  development  requires  that 
we  train  this  inclination.  There  is  a  prevalent  notion 
that  women  especially  are  no  longer  required  to  be  pro- 
ducers and  that  all  our  energies  should  be  bent  toward 
the  sole  task  of  making  them  intelligent  consumers. 
There  is,  however,  a  joy  in  producing  without  which  no 
life  is  really  complete.  And  no  scheme  of  education  can 
be  a  true  success  which  ignores  or  neglects  the  necessity 
of  producing.  The  joy  of  work,  the  delight  in  achieve- 
ment, should  be  the  keynote  of  all  industrial  training. 
This  should  be  kept  constantly  in  view. 

To  most  people  there  is  something  wonderfully  appeal- 
ing about  the  innocence  of  the  little  child.  We  watch 
with  delight  the  marvelous  development  of  the  little 
mind  keeping  pace  with  the  growth  of  bodily  strength 
and  dexterity.  We  are  reluctant  to  see  the  day  drawing 
near  when  the  child  must  begin  his  long  course  of  training 
in  school.  Sometimes  we  fail  to  recognize  the  fact  that 
before  school  days  come  the  child  has  already  received  a 
considerable  part  of  his  education ;  that  the  habits  which 
will  make  or  mar  his  future  are  often  firmly  implanted 
and  in  a  fair  way  to  become  masters  of  the  young 
life.  An  elaborate  plan  for  the  little  child's  training 
would  probably  be  abandoned  even  if  undertaken,  since 
elaborate  plans  involve  endless  work.  If,  however,  we 


Training  the  Littk  Child.  •  -  ,  ,  ,  -          101 

attempt  no  more  than  I  have  outlined  in  this  chapter, 
we  have  some  reasonable  chance  of  success.  Given  good 
health,  with  regular  bodily  habits,  as  a  physical  founda- 
tion, the  child  will  have  had  much  done  for  him  if  we 
have  begun  to  build  the  habits  of  sympathy,  self-control, 
industry,  and  service  which  will  purify  and  sweeten  the 
family  relations  of  later  years  and  make  the  one-time 
child  worthy  himself  to  undertake  the  important  task 
of  home  building. 

It  is  naturally  a  matter  for  regret  that  the  teacher  into 
whose  hands  the  child  comes  first  at  school  usually  knows 
so  little  of  the  home  training  he  has  had  or  failed  to  have. 
Children  whose  parents  have  made  little  or  no  attempt 
to  teach  these  fundamental  qualities  which  we  have 
had  under  discussion  are  sometimes  forever  handicapped 
unless  the  teacher  can  supply  the  deficiency.  Children 
who  have  made  a  good  beginning  may  lose  much  of 
what  they  have  been  taught  unless  the  teacher  recog- 
nizes and  holds  them  to  the  ideal.  The  kindergarten 
or  primary  teacher  needs  to  know  the  homes  of  her 
pupils;  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  school 
will  recognize  the  home  as  after  all  the  first  grade  in 
school  life.  Then  mothers  will  receive  the  inspiration 
of  contact  with  the  teachers  and  their  ideals,  not  alone 
when  their  children  reach  school  age,  but  from  the  time 
the  first  child  arrives  in  the  home.  The  Sunday  school 
has  its  "cradle  roll."  The  day  school  may  emulate 
its  example. 


CHAPTER  VII 
TEACHING  THE  MECHANICS  OF  HOUSEKEEPING 

GOING  to  school  marks  an  epoch  in  every  child's 
life.  Hitherto,  however  wide  or  narrow  the  child's 
contact  with  the  world  has  been,  the  mother  has  been,  at 
least  nominally  and  in  most  cases  actually,  the  controlling 
power.  Now  she  gives  her  child  over  for  an  increasingly 
large  part  of  every  day  to  outside  influence. 

More  and  more  we  are  coming  to  see  that  the  evolution 
of  a  successful  homemaker  requires  that  the  school  as 
well  as  the  home  keep  the  homemaking  ideal  before  it. 
And  so  the  best  schools  of  the  country  are  doing.  The 
greatest  needs  of  the  little  girl's  early  school  days  would 
seem  to  be  a  definite  understanding  between  teacher  and 
mother  of  the  share  each  should  assume  in  the  home- 
making  training.  This  necessitates  personal  conferences 
or  mothers'  meetings,  or  both. 

The  little  girl  of  primary-school  age  points  the  way  for 
both  teacher  and  mother  by  her  adaptation  and  imitation 
of  home  activities  in  her  play.  In  primary  grades  girls 
are  approaching  the  height  of  the  doll  interest,  which 
Hall  and  others  place  at  eight  or  nine  years.  A  doll's 
house,  therefore,  may  be  made  the  source  of  almost 
infinite  enjoyment  and  profit  in  these  grades.  Indeed 
it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  no  primary  room  is 
complete  without  one.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  why 
any  school  should  remain  without  one,  since  its  making 
is  the  simplest  of  processes.  Four  wooden  boxes,  of  the 
same  size,  obtained  probably  from  the  grocer,  the  dry- 
goods  merchant,  or  the  local  shoe  dealer,  will  make  a 

102 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  103 


most  satisfactory  house  if  placed  in  two  tiers  of  two  each, 
with  the  open  sides  toward  the  front.  This  gives  four 
rooms,  which  may  be  furnished  as  kitchen,  dining  room, 
living  room,  and  bedroom.  Windows  may  be  cut  in 
the  ends  or  back,  if  the  boys  of  the  school  are  sufficiently 
expert  with  tools  or  if  outside  assistance  can  be  secured 
for  an  hour  or  so. 

The  best  results 
with  the  doll's 
house  are  obtained 
if  the  children  are 
allowed  to  furnish 
it  themselves,  with 
the  teacher's  ad- 
vice and  help, 
rather  than  to 
find  it  completely 
equipp  e  d  and 
therefore  merely  a 
"plaything"  of  the 
sort  that  children 
have  less  use  for 
because  they  can 
do  little  with  it. 
An  empty  house  presents  exciting  possibilities,  and  per- 
haps for  the  first  time  these  little  girls  look  with  seeing 
eyes  at  the  home  furnishings,  for  they  have  wall  paper 
to  select,  curtains  and  rugs  to  make,  and  indeed  no  end 
of  things  to  do. 

It  is  perhaps  scarcely  necessary  to  call  to  mind  the 
educational  advantages  possible  in  the  planning  and 
making  of  bedding,  draperies,  table  linen,  towels,  couches 
and  pillows,  window  seats,  and  other  furnishings,  as  well 
as  in  the  ingenuity  brought  into  play  in  evolving  kitchen 


The  little  girl  adapts  and  imitates  home 
activities  in  play 


IO4 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


utensils  and  in  stocking  the  cupboards  with  the  necessities 
for  housekeeping.  The  free  interchange  of  ideas  should 
be  encouraged,  and  the  spirit  of  seeking  the  best  fostered. 
The  conspicuous  results  in  this  work  are  two:  we 
secure  the  child's  attention  to  details  of  housekeeping, 


Making  furniture  for  a  doll's  house  affords  educational  advantages 
in  emphasizing  the  details  of  housekeeping 

and  we  build  up  a  foundation  ideal  of  what  housekeep- 
ing equipment  should  be.  Children  in  poorly  equipped 
homes  may  find  the  most  practical  of  training  in  this 
way.  My  experience  has  been  that  teachers  have  only 
to  begin  this  work  in  order  to  arouse  enthusiasm  in  any 
class  of  little  girls.  Once  begun,  it  carries  itself  along. 
There  should  be  no  compulsion  in  this  work.  Choice 
and  not  necessity  must  be  the  rule  in  all  our  training  for 
homemaking.  To  compel  a  child's  attention  to  that 
which  she  will  later  do  voluntarily,  if  at  all,  will  at  the 
very  outset  defeat  our  purpose. 

The  finest  sort  of  cooperation  arises  in  this  work  when 
parents  are  led  to  provide  the  little  girl  at  home  with  a 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  105 

doll's  house  fashioned  like  the  one  at  school.  Perhaps 
they  may  go  a  step  farther  and  find  space  for  a  larger 
scheme  of  housekeeping,  in  the  attic  or  elsewhere. 
Cooperation  among  the  children  means  interchange  of 
ideas,  materials,  and  labor,  most  helpful  to  social  ideals. 

From  the  furnishing  of  the  doll's  house  it  is  easy  to 
pass  to  plays  involving  the  activities  of  home  life.  Chil- 
dren delight  in  sweeping,  dusting,  washing  dishes,  arrang- 
ing cupboards  and  pantries,  and  making  beds  in  their 
miniature  houses,  and  if  their  efforts  are  wisely  directed, 
orderly  habits  easily  begin  to  form.  In  all  these  varieties 
of  work  the  children  must  be  led  to  feel  that  there  is  a 
right  way,  and  that  only  that  way  is  good  enough,  even 
for  play. 

The  great  result  of  all  play  housekeeping  is  the  forma- 
tion of  ideals.  It  is  just  as  easy  to  learn  at  seven  or  eight 
the  most  efficient  way  of  washing  dishes  as  it  is  to  defer 
that  knowledge  until  years  of  inefficient  work  harden 
into  inefficient  habits.  The  teacher  will  find  abundant 
and  interesting  studies  in  household  efficiency  in  recently 
published  books  to  inspire  her  guidance  of  the  children's 
activity. 

The  step  from  washing  play  dishes  at  school  to  washing 
real  dishes  at  home  is  easily  taken,  and  children  are 
delighted  to  take  it.  Here  again  the  school  and  home 
may — indeed  must,  for  best  results — work  together. 
Some  schools  are  giving  school  credit  for  home  work 
along  domestic  lines.  That  there  are  complex  elements 
entering  into  the  successful  working  out  of  such  a  plan 
one  must  admit.  A  school  giving  credit  for  work  it 
does  not  see  may  put  a  premium  upon  quantity  rather 
than  quality.  The  teacher  who  asks  her  little  pupils  to 
wash  the  home  dishes  according  to  school  methods  may 
encounter  adverse  comment  from  certain  parents  who  are 


io6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

quick  to  resent  outside  "management."  Nevertheless, 
home  practice  in  accordance  with  school  theory  is  the 
ideal  of  any  cooperative  education  in  the  mechanics  of 
housekeeping;  therefore  some  scheme  must  be  worked 
out  whereby  the  girls  will  practice  at  home,  and,  having 
learned  to  do  by  doing,  will  continue  to  do  in  the  families 
where  their  doing  will  be  a  help. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  present  condition  of 
the  school-credit-for-home-work  idea.  Schemes  are  being 
worked  out  in  various  places,  under  one  or  the  other  of 
the  following  plans. 

Plan  I  (often  known  as  the  Massachusetts  plan).  Each 
pupil,  with  the  advice  of  his  teacher  and  the  consent  of 
his  parents,  selects  some  one  definite  piece  of  work  to  do 
at  home  regularly,  under  direction  of  the  school  and  with 
some  study  at  school  of  the  practical  problems  involved. 
School  credit  depends  upon  approval  by  the  teacher  on 
the  occasion  of  a  visit  of  inspection  to  the  home. 

Plan  II  (sometimes  called  the  Oregon  plan).  This  is 
more  directly  concerned  with  the  cultivation  of  a  helpful 
spirit  than  w4th  perfect  technique  or  broad  knowledge. 
No  attempt  is  made  to  correlate  home  and  school  work. 
Credit  is  given  merely  for  the  fact  that  the  dishes  were 
washed,  the  table  set,  or  the  baby  bathed,  the  fact  being 
properly  certified  by  the  parent.  Whether  the  work  was 
acceptably  done  or  not  rests  entirely  with  the  parent. 
In  the  carrying  out  of  the  latter  plan  blanks  are  usually 
issued  to  be  filled  out  and  handed  in  once  a  week  or  once 
a  month.  Each  task  carries  a  certain  value  in  school 
credit. 

That  either  of  these  plans  possesses  certain  weaknesses 
doubtless  even  their  makers  would  admit.  But  they  are 
at  least  opening  wedges.  A  plan  might  be  worked  out 
whereby  little  girls  are  taught  one  household  task  at  a 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  107 

time,  through  their  play  housekeeping,  after  which  credit 
may  be  given  for  satisfactory  performance  of  the  task  at 
home.  Later  another  household  duty  may  be  taught, 
and  put  into  practice,  with  credit,  at  home,  thus  building 
up  a  body  of  known  duties  for  which  the  little  house- 
helper  has  been  duly  trained.  For  its  highest  efficiency 
such  a  plan  would  require  more  than  consent  on  the  part 
of  mothers.  Its  success  would  depend  upon  coopera- 
tive leadership  and  its  value  upon  the  acceptance,  for 
school  credit,  of  only  that  work  done  in  conformity  with 
school  ideals. 

But  at  all  events,  whether  school  credit  be  given  or  not, 
the  stimulus  of  interest  in  home  tasks  may  be  given 
strength  by  the  teacher's  wise  suggestion,  and  thoughtful 
consideration  of  the  matter  in  teachers'  and  mothers' 
meetings  will  insure  cooperation  of  the  most  helpful  sort. 
The  tactful  teacher  will  find  ways  to  suggest  to  mothers 
that  children  be  held  up  at  home  to  the  ideals  of  efficiency 
she  has  been  at  pains  to  put  before  them  at  school. 

The  suggestion  has  been  recently  made  by  several 
thoughtful  educators  that  the  noon  hour,  in  schools  where 
children  do  not  go  home  for  dinner,  be  made  use  of  for  the 
simplest  of  cooking  lessons.  The  children  who  at  seven 
are  quite  content  to  play  house  soon  pass  into  the  stage 
where  they  wish  to  see  results  from  their  work.  They 
want  to  "make  things,"  real  things,  that  they  or  some  one 
can  use.  Children  of  nine  or  ten  can  learn  to  cook  cereals 
and  eggs  in  various  ways,  to  make  cocoa,  and  to  prepare 
other  simple  dishes.  Their  pride  and  delight  in  these 
accomplishments  are  intense.  These  activities  are  equally 
suited  to  the  small  rural  school  and  to  the  consolidated 
schools  which  are  happily  taking  the  place  of  the  one-room 
buildings.  In  both,  the  teacher  may  find  the  lunch  hour 
a  real  educational  force  if  it  is  used  aright.  If.  the  teacher 


io8 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


allows  and  guides  these  efforts  in  the  schoolroom,  she 
must  keep  in  mind  her  "ideal  of  efficiency."  Accurate 
measurements,  logical  processes,  elimination  of  awkward 
and  unnecessary  movements,  care  in  following  directions, 
neatness,  and  precision  are  the  real  lessons  to  be  learned. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  school  garden.     The  possibilities  for  good  through  school-garden 
•work  are  numberless 

School  gardens  are  perhaps  already  too  familiar  to 
require  more  than  a  word.  Their  possibilities  for  good 
are  numberless.  In  them  many  children  get  their  first 
insight  into  the  joys  of  making  things  grow  and  are  led 
by  this  joy  to  undertake  the  care  of  a  home  garden  and  to 
beautify  the  home  surroundings  as  they  had  never  thought 
of  doing  before.  School-garden  work  leads  to  beautify- 
ing the  school  grounds,  with  resulting  pride  and  interest 
in  the  school. 

Accompanying  the  activities  we  have  suggested, 
teachers  will  find  a  wide  field  in  attractive  stories  of  help- 
ful cooperative  home  life.  Extracts  from  many  of  Miss 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  109 

Alcott's  stories,  the  Cratchits'  Christmas  dinner  from 
Dickens'  Christmas  Carol,  and  many  other  delightful 
glimpses  of  home  life  can  be  read,  or,  better,  dramatized, 
with  little  effort  and  with  good  results. 

It  may  seem  that  the  homemaking  training  here 
suggested  for  younger  children  is  too  desultory,  too  slight, 
in  fact,  to  affect  the  situation  much.  But  let  us  consider. 
Homemaking  is  an  art,  coming  more  and  more  to  be  based 
on  a  foundation  of  science.  For  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that,  while  the  pessimists  are  telling  us  that  the  home 
is  doomed,  we  who  are  optimists  see  coming  toward  us 
a  great  wave  of  homemaking  knowledge  which  if  seized 
upon  will  put  the  homemaker's  art  upon  a  surer  foundation 
than  it  has  ever  been. 

The  elements  of  housekeeping  are  the  ABC  of  home- 
making.  We  shall  do  well  to  teach  them  early,  incidentally, 
and  with  no  undue  exaggeration  of  their  place  in  the  scheme 
of  living.  We  simply  familiarize  the  girl,  by  long  and 
quiet  contact,  with  the  tools  of  the  homemaker,  for  future 
scientific  use,  just  as  we  teach  the  multiplication  facts 
for  later  use  in  the  science  of  mathematics. 

A  definite  list  of  the  simple  homemaking  tasks  suitable 
for  little  girls  to  undertake  may  not  be  out  of  place  here : 

1.  Setting  the  table.     (A  card  list  of  table  necessities  is  useful. 
Such  a  list  may  be  given  each  little  girl  when  she  undertakes 
home  practice  work.) 

2.  Clearing  the  table. 

3.  Washing  the  dishes. 

4.  Sweeping  the  kitchen.     Sweeping  the  piazza. 

5.  Dusting. 

6.  Making  beds  and  caring  for  bedrooms. 

7.  Arranging  her  own  bureau  drawers  and  closets. 

8.  Simple  cooking. 

9.  Hemming  towels  and  table  linen. 
10.  Ironing  handkerchiefs  and  napkins. 


no  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls     . 

As  the  child  grows  older,  methods  of  teaching  grow 
increasingly  direct.  Even  here  we  shall  perhaps  not  talk 
a  great  deal  about  "preparing  for  homemaking."  But 
we  shall  see  that  the  tools  grow  increasingly  familiar,  and 
that  ideals  once  taught  are  retained  and  added  to.  We 
shall  see  that  our  science,  our  mathematics,  our  art,  all 
contribute  to  the  acquirement  of  homemaking  knowledge. 
We  shall  give  a  practical  turn  to  these  more  or  less  abstract 
subjects. 

Sewing  and  cooking  classes  are  by  this  time  a  recognized 
part  of  grammar-school  courses  in  many  city  schools. 
That  they  are  not  so  firmly  intrenched  in  the  country 
schools  is  due  usually  to  difficulties  in  the  way  of  securing 
equipment  and  to  the  already  crowded  condition  of  the 
school  program.  The  ideal  remedy  is  the  substitution  of 
the  consolidated  school  with  its  domestic  science  room  and 
its  specially  trained  teacher  for  the  scattered  one-room 
buildings.  Wherever  the  consolidated  school  has  come, 
it  has  been  enthusiastically  received  and  supported.  No 
one  wishes  to  go  back  to  the  old  way.  But  in  many 
localities  the  consolidated  school  has  not  come  and  cannot 
be  immediately  looked  for;  and  in  these  places  the  need 
of  the  homemaking  work  is  just  as  great.  The  teacher 
must  find  the  way  to  give  these  girls  what  they  need.  If 
no  other  way  presents  itself,  the  teacher  will  do  well  to 
ask  the  help  of  the  mothers  of  the  neighborhood.  Perhaps 
one  who  is  an  expert  needlewoman  will  give  an  hour  or 
two  a  week  in  the  school  or  at  her  own  home  to  carrying 
out  the  sewing  course  which  the  teacher  cannot  crowd 
into  her  own  already  overcrowded  program.  Perhaps 
another  will  do  the  same  for  the  cooking,  making  her  own 
kitchen  for  one  afternoon  a  week  an  annex  of  the  school. 
It  is  important,  however,  when  such  arrangements  are 
made  that  they  be  recognized  as  school  work,  and  if 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  1 1 1 

possible  the  courses  followed  should  be  planned  and 
supervised  by  the  regular  teacher  of  the  school.  Thus 
only  can  they  be  held  to  standardized  accomplishment. 

The  inadequacy  of  the  "one-portion"  method  of  teaching 
girls  to  cook  has  aroused  serious  thought,  and  remedies  of 
various  sorts  have  been  applied.  You  know,  perhaps, 
the  story  of  the  Chicago  cooking-school  student  who 
"had  to  make  seven  omelets  in  succession  at  home  last 
night"  because  one  egg  would  not  make  enough  omelet  for 
the  family.  The  first  remedy  tried  was  cooking  for  the 
school  lunch  room.  This  was,  however,  usually  going 
from  one  extreme  to  the  other,  since  the  lunch  room  is  as 
a  rule  maintained  only  in  large  schools.  "Institutional 
cooking,"  some  one  calls  it.  Instead  of  one  egg-cooking, 
it  became  one-hundred-egg  cooking,  and  the  difficulty  of 
the  average  student  in  adapting  school  methods  to  family 
use  was  not  by  any  means  at  an  end. 

The  Central  High  School  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  has 
solved  its  problem  by  putting  its  girls  to  work,  not  at 
the  task  of  providing  the  sandwiches,  soups,  and  other 
luncheon  dishes  for  its  large  lunch  room,  but  at  providing 
"family  dinners"  at  twenty-five  cents  a  plate  for  the 
faculty  of  the  school.  Other  schools  follow  similar  plans. 

The  grammar-school  girls  of  Leominster,  Massachusetts, 
serve  luncheon  to  a  limited  number  every  day  at  their 
domestic  science  house.  Here  the  girls  do  the  marketing, 
cook  and  serve  the  meal,  and  keep  the  various  rooms  of 
the  house  in  order.  In  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  work  of 
this  same  sort  is  done.  In  each  of  these  cases  the  cooking 
is  done  as  it  would  have  to  be  in  the  home,  not  for  one 
person,  nor  for  hundreds,  but  for  approximately  a  family- 
sized  group. 

Sewing  courses  also  grow  more  and  more  practical. 
In  some  schools  the  girls  make  their  own  graduating 


112 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


dresses  as  a  final  test  of  their  ability.     Courses  are  definite, 
and  girls  completing  them  will  have  definite  knowledge  of 


Teachers1  luncheon  cooked  and  served  by  pupils  at  the  Clinton 

Kelly  School,  Portland,  Oregon.     Other  schools  have  adopted 

similar  plans  for  teaching  girls  how  to  cook 

everyday  processes  of  hand  sewing.  The  schools  which 
add  to  their  hand-sewing  courses  well-planned  practice  in 
the  use  of  the  sewing  machine  are  further  adding  to  the 
accomplishment  of  their  girls.  Those  which  go  farther 
still  and  teach  garment  planning  and  making  may  consider 
their  sewing  courses  fairly  complete. 

The  formation  of  ideals  must  go  hand  in  hand  with 
practice  in  manual  processes.  The  girl  must  learn  to 
know  good  work  when  she  sees  it,  to  know  a  properly 
constructed  garment  from  one  carelessly  put  together, 
and  to  value  good  work  and  construction. 

Time  was  when  domestic  science  meant  sewing  and 
cooking,  and  these  alone.  That  time,  however,  is  past. 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  113 

The  care  of  a  house  is  practically  taught  in  many  schools 
throughout  the  country  by  the  maintenance  of  a  model 
apartment  in  or  near  the  school  building.  In  Public 
School  No.  7,  New  York  City,  grammar-school  girls, 
many  of  whom  are  of  foreign  parentage  and  tradition, 
are  thus  introduced  to  the  American  ideal  of  living.  The 
school  is  thus  establishing  standards  of  equipment,  of 
food,  of  service,  of  comfortable  living,  that  tend  to 
Americanize  quite  as  much  as  the  establishment  of 
standards  of  speech,  of  business  methods,  or  of  civic 
duties.  The  work  done  in  this  school  is  typical  of  that 
prevailing  in  hundreds  of  towns  and  cities. 

The  question  arises:  How  much  'of  her  housekeeping 
training  should  a  girl  receive  before  entering  upon  her 
high-school  course?  After  careful  consideration  it  seems 


A  girls1  sewing  class.     Work  in  sewing  offers  unlimited 
possibilities 

wise  to  urge  that  the  greater  part  of  the  practical  house- 
hold work  be  taught  during  the  period  from  eleven  to 


ii4  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

fourteen.  This  does  not  imply  that  homemaking  training 
should  cease  at  fourteen,  but  rather  that  after  that  age 
attention  shall  be  centered  upon  the  more  difficult  aspects 
of  the  subject — upon  "household  economics"  rather  than 
the  skillful  doing  of  household  tasks. 

In  view,  however,  of  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  girls 
never  reach  the  high  school,  every  bit  of  household  science 
which  they  can  grasp  should  be  given  them  in  the  elemen- 
tary school.  Knowing  how  to  do  is  only  part  of  the 
housekeeper's  work.  Knowing  what  and  when  to  do  is 
quite  as  important.  Elementary  study  of  food  values  is 
quite  as  comprehensible  as  elementary  algebra.  Home 
sanitation  and  decoration  are  no  harder  to  understand 
than  commercial  geography.  The  principles  of  infant 
feeding  and  care  may  be  grasped  by  any  girl  who  can 
successfully  study  civil  government  or  grammar. 

Shall  we  then  crowd  out  commercial  geography  or 
government  or  grammar  to  make  room  for  these  home- 
making  studies?  Not  necessarily,  although,  if  it  came  to 
a  choice,  much  might  be  said  for  the  practical  studies  in 
learning  to  live.  Fortunately  it  need  not  come  to  a 
choice.  There  is  room  for  both.  We  must,  however,  learn 
to  adapt  existing  courses  to  the  requirements  of  girls. 

There  is  arithmetic,  for  instance.  Most  of  us  have 
already  learned  to  skip  judiciously  the  pages  in  the  text- 
book which  deal  with  compound  proportion,  averaging  pay- 
ments, partial  payments,  and  cube  root.  Now  we  must 
learn  to  insert  the  keeping  of  household  accounts;  the 
study  of  apportioning  incomes;  the  scientific  spending  of 
a  dollar  in  food  or  clothing  value;  the  relative  advantage 
of  cash  or  credit  systems  of  paying  the  running  expenses 
of  a  home;  the  dangers  of  the  "easy-payment  plan";  the 
cost  of  running  an  automobile;  comparison  with  the 
upkeep  of  a  horse  and  wagon;  comparison  of  the  two  from 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  115 


Courtesy  of  L.  A.  Alderman 


A  model  school  home  where  all  the  practical  details  of  house- 
keeping are  taught 


A  domestic  science  class  at  work  in  the  model  school  home 
shown  above 


n6  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

the  point  of  view  of  their  usefulness  to  a  family ;  mortgag- 
ing homes,  what  it  means,  and  what  it  costs  to  borrow; 
when  borrowing  is  justified;  the  accumulation  of  interest 
in  a  savings  account ;  the  comparative  financial  advantage 
of  renting  and  owning  a  home ;  the  cost  of  building  houses 
of  various  sorts;  the  cost  of  securing,  under  varying  con- 
ditions, a  water  supply  in  the  country  home;  and  other 
locally  important  problems.  We  already  have  "applied 
science"  in  our  courses,  and  we  are  making  a  strenuous 
effort  to  apply  arithmetic;  but  we  have  not  usually  tried 
to  apply  it  to  the  education  of  the  prospective  homemaker. 

Take  the  one  question  of  the  "installment  plan." 
Where,  if  not  in  the  public  school,  can  we  fight  the  menace 
offered  to  the  inexperienced  young  people  of  the  land  by 
this  method  of  doing  business?  And  where  in  the  public 
school  if  not  in  the  arithmetic  class?  Consider  the 
possibility  of  lives  spent  in  paying  for  shoes  and  hats 
already  worn  out,  of  furniture  double-priced  because 
payment  is  to  be  on  the  "easy  plan,"  of  families  always 
in  debt,  with  wages  mortgaged  for  months  in  advance. 
The  pure  science  of  mathematics  will  be  of  little  avail 
in  fighting  this  possibility,  but  "applied  arithmetic"  can 
be  a  most  effective  weapon. 

In  our  geography  classes  we  may  find  time  for  the 
study  of  food  and  clothing  products,  of  their  sources, 
their  comparative  usefulness,  and  their  cost.  We  may 
learn  whether  it  is  best  to  buy  American-made  macaroni 
or  the  imported  variety ;  whether  French  silks  and  gloves 
are  superior  to  those  made  in  America ;  what ' '  shoddy  "is, 
what  we  may  expect  from  it  if  we  buy  it,  how  much  it  is 
worth  in  comparison  with  long-wool  fabrics,  how  to  know 
whether  shoddy  is  being  offered  us  when  we  buy.  Count- 
less other  matters  concerning  the  markets  and  products 
of  the  world  will  repay  the  same  sort  of  treatment. 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  117 


One  of  the  class  exercises  in  the  model  school  home  shown 
on  page  115 


The  correct  serving  of  meals  forms  part  of  the  class  work  in 
this  same  home 


1 1 8  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Food  questions  are  opened  up  by  study  of  our  meat, 
vegetable,  and  fruit  supply.  Every  town  may  make 
this  a  personal  and  immediate  problem.  From  whom 
did  Mr.  Blank,  the  local  grocer,  obtain  his  canned  toma- 
toes? It  is  sometimes  possible  to  follow  up  those  canned 
tomatoes  to  their  source.  In  one  investigation  of  this 
sort  they  were  found  to  have  passed  through  six  hands. 
The  arithmetic  class  may  pass  upon  the  question  of  profits 
and  comparative  cost  between  this  and  the  "producer- 
to-consumer"  method. 

The  art  work  of  the  schools  may  also  contribute  gener- 
ously to  the  body  of  homemaking  knowledge.  For  tae 
average  girl  the  designing  and  making  of  Christmas  cards 
and  book  covers,  or  even  the  prolonged  study  of  great 
paintings,  is  a  less  productive  use  of  time  than  the  design- 
ing of  cushion  covers,  curtains,  bureau  scarfs,  or  candle 
shades.  In  a  certain  town  in  New  England  considerable 
effort  was  expended  in  bringing  about  the  introduction 
of  art  work  in  the  schools  a  few  years  ago.  A  normal- 
school  art  graduate  took  charge  of  the  work.  It  has 
now  been  abandoned  because  ' '  the  children  took  so  little 
interest."  And  really,  if  you  knew  the  conditions,  you- 
could  not  blame  them.  They  studied  art  and  copied 
art  and  tried  to  cultivate  an  artistic  sense  in  ways  as 
remote  from  their  daily  lives  as  could  apparently  be  con- 
trived. And  the  pity  of  it  all  is  that  here  were  girls 
whose  homes,  whose  personal  dress,  were  crying  out  for 
the  application  of  art;  whose  artistic  sense  was  growing 
or  failing  to  grow  according  as  their  individual  condi- 
tions would  allow;  and  the  public  school  has  passed  its 
opportunity  by. 

Art,  as  applied  to  school  work,  is  divided  usually  into 
appreciative  and  creative  work.  We  place  before  chil- 
dren the  best  in  picture  and  sculpture  and  music.  Why 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping  119 

do  we  not  teach  them  also  the  foundation  principles  of 
good  taste  in  matters  less  remote  from  the  lives  of  many 
of  them?  Why  not  teach  the  girl  something  of  artistic 
color  combination?  Why  not  apply  the  test  of  art  to 
the  lines  of  woman's  attire  ?  Why  not  study  the  contour 
of  heads  and  styles  of  hairdressing? 

Happily,  in  these  days,  these  things  also  are  being  done. 
We  have  "manual  arts"  rooms  and  teachers  by  whose 
aid  girls  are  taught  to  use  the  principles  of  design  they 
study  in  their  everyday  planning  of  everyday  things.  A 
visitor  to  the  Central  School  of  Auburn,  Washington, 
imports  interesting  work  going  on  in  such  a  room.  On 
the  blackboard  was  written: 

The  general  aim  of  design  work — order  and  beauty. 
The  three  principles  governing  design  are: 

B  alance — Harmony — Rhythm. 
Balance:  opposition  of  equal  forms. 

Rhythm:  movement  in  direction — joint  action — motion. 
Harmony:  similarity. 

In  the  room  were  girls  doing  various  sorts  of  work  — 
coloring  designs  on  fabrics  for  curtains  and  pillow  covers ; 
making  original  designs  for  crocheted  lace;  hemstitching 
draperies;  preparing  color  material  for  a  primary  room; 
while  on  a  table  in  the  center  of  the  room  were  many 
finished  articles,  made  by  the  girls  and  carrying  out  their 
principles  of  design — "not  one  of  which,"  says  the  visi- 
tor, "but  would  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  home  or  office." 

House  building,  interior  decorating,  and  furnishing  are 
all  worthy  of  serious  attention  in  the  art  course.  Sim- 
plicity, harmony,  and  suitability  may  well  be  taught  as 
the  principles  of  good  taste.  Girls  must  learn  these 
principles  somewhere  to  make  the  most  of  their  homes 
by  and  by.  And  again  the  public  school,  and  probably 
the  elementary  school,  must  do  the  work. 


120  I  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Physiology  and  hygiene  are  already  contributing  to 
the  knowledge  which  makes  for  human  betterment,  but 
they  also  can  be  made  to  contribute  much  more  than  they 
have  sometimes  done.  The  physiology  of  infancy  must 
be  widely  and  insistently  taught. 

With  proper  education  she  [the  young  mother]  would  know 
the  meaning  of  the  words  food  and  sleep;  she  would  know 
something  of  their  overwhelming  importance  upon  the  future 
being  and  career  of  her  child,  who  in  his  turn  is  to  be  one  of 
the  world's  citizens  with  full  capacity  for  good  or  evil.  Know- 
ing what  were  normal  functions,  she  would  be  able  to  recognize 
and  guard  against  deviations  from  them.  No  day  would  pass 
in  which  she  would  not  find  opportunity  to  exercise  self-restraint, 
keen  observation  and  sensible  knowledge  in  furthering  the 
normal  and  healthful  evolution  of  her  child.1 

The  "little  mother"  classes  in  settlement  houses,  in 
community  social  centers,  and  in  some  public  schools  are 
doing  excellent  work  in  beginning  this  knowledge  of 
infancy.  No  elementary  school  can  really  afford  to  miss 
the  opportunity  such  work  holds  out.  Have  we  any 
right  to  let  a  girl  approach  the  care  of  her  child  with  less 
than  the  best  that  modern  science  can  offer  in  this  most 
important  and  exacting  work  of  her  life?  If  not,  it  is 
again  the  public  school  which  alone  can  be  depended 
upon  to  do  the  work,  and  we  must  get  at  least  the  begin- 
ning of  it  done  before  the  girl  escapes  us  at  the  close  of 
her  elementary-school  course. 

If  you  are  impatient  with  a  program  which  presupposes 
that  practically  all  women  will  be  homemakers  and 
mothers,  either  trained  or  otherwise,  let  me  remind  you 
that  the  majority  of  women  do  marry,  that  most  of 
these  and  many  of  the  unmarried  do  become  homemakers, 
and  that  it  will  be  far  safer  for  society  to  train  the  few — 

1  Oppenheim. 


Teaching  the  Mechanics  of  Housekeeping          121 

less  than  10  per  cent — who  never  enter  the  career  than 
to  pursue  the  economically  wasteful  plan  of  assuming 
educationally  that  no  women  will  be  homemakers,  or 
that  if  they  are  they  can  successfully  undertake  the 
most  complicated,  difficult,  and  most  important  profession 
open  to  women  with  no  preparation  at  all,  or  with  only 
what  they  have  unconsciously  absorbed  at  home  in  the 
brief  pauses  of  the  education  which  did  not  educate  them 
for  life. 

The  education  for  homemaking  will  never  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  girls  must  really  be  prepared  for  a  double 
vocation,  since  it  is  a  question  whether  or  not  they  will 
become  homemakers,  and  they  must  at  all  events  be 
prepared  for  the  years  intervening  between  school  and 
home.  On  the  contrary,  the  education  which  prepares 
the  homemaker  will  exercise  special  care  in  training  for 
those  intervening  years,  or  for  life  work  if  it  should  prove 
to  be  such.  Of  all  distinctly  vocational  training,  it  is 
only  fair,  however,  that  the  homemaking  training  should 
come  first,  as  a  foundation  for  all  later  work.  Whether 
the  girl  thus  trained  ever  presides  over  a  home  of  her  own 
or  not,  the  training  will  have  made  her  a  broader  woman 
and  a  better  worker,  with  a  finer  understanding  of  the 
universal  business  of  her  sex. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  GIRL'S  INNER  LIFE 

WHILE  we  are  occupied  in  teaching  the  girl  the 
"ways  and  means"  by  which  she  is  later  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  homemaking,  we  must  not 
overlook  the  fact  that,  although  ways  and  means  are 
vitally  necessary,  it  is  after  all  the  spirit  of  the  girl  which 
will  supply  the  motive  power  to  make  the  home  machinery 
run.  With  this  in  view  we  must  so  plan  the  girl's  train- 
ing as  to  secure  not  only  the  concrete  knowledge  of  doing 
things,  but  also  the  more  abstract  qualities  which  will 
equip  her  for  her  work. 

False  ideals  and  ignorance  of  housekeeping  processes 
are  responsible  for  thousands  of  homekeeping  failures; 
but  lack  of  fairness,  of  good  temper,  patience,  humor, 
courage,  courtesy,  stability,  perseverance,  and  initiative 
must  be  held  accountable  for  thousands  more.  For  these 
qualities,  then,  the  girl  must  be  definitely  and  pains- 
takingly trained.  In  other  words,  we  must  work  for  the 
highest  type  of  woman,  spiritually  as  well  as  industrially. 

It  may  seem  that  definite  instruction  in  such  abstract 
qualities  as  good  temper  or  stability  or  fairness  is  difficult 
or  perhaps  impossible  to  secure.  Since,  however,  all  the 
girl's  intercourse  with  her  kind  affords  daily  opportunity 
for  practice  of  these  qualities,  instruction  may  easily 
accompany  and  become  a  part  of  her  daily  life.  The  lack 
of  these  qualities  handicaps  the  girl  even  in  her  school 
life  and  shows  there  plainly  the  handicap  that,  unless 
help  is  given  her,  she  will  suffer  for  life. 

Her  school  work  offers  ample  opportunity  for  the 
cultivation  of  patience  and  perseverance.  Teachers  must 


The  Girl's  Inner  Life 


123 


combat  vigorously  the  "give-up"  spirit,  and  the  trouble- 
some "changing  her  mind"  which  leads  the  girl  along  a 
straight  path  from  "trying  another"  essay  subject  or 
embroidery  stitch  as  soon  as  difficulties  present  themselves 
to  trying  another  husband  when  the  first  domestic  cloud 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Play  hours  as  well  as  work  hours  are  invaluable  in  teaching  the 
girl  the  difficult  art  of  getting  on  with  the  world 

arises.  Play  hours  as  well  as  work  hours  are  invaluable 
in  teaching  the  girl  the  difficult  art  of  getting  along  with 
the  world.  The  educational  value  of  games  is  largely 
found  in  their  social  training.  Experience  teaches  that 
children  require  long  and  patient  instruction  to  enable 
them  to  play  games.  They  have  to  learn  fairness, 
courtesy,  good  temper;  honesty,  kindness,  sympathy. 
They  have  to  learn  to  be  good  losers  and  to  consider  the 
fun  of  playing  a  better  end  than  winning  the  game. 

Games  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  more 
general  term  play.     All  play  not  solitary  has  recognized 


124 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


social  value;  games,  because  the  idea  of  contest  is 
involved,  have  a  special  value  of  their  own.  Close  obser- 
vation of  young  children  in  their  games,  especially  when 


Copyright  by  Underwood  <fe  Underwood 

Hunter  High  School  girls  playing  hockey  in  Central  Park,  New  York. 

The  educational  value  of  games  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  teach  fair 

play,  self-control,  and  proper  consideration  of  others 

unsupervised,  shows  us  self  supreme.  According  to  tem- 
perament, the  child  either  pushes  his  way  savagely  to  the 
goal  or  furtively  seeks  to  win  by  cunning  and  craft.  He 
must  win,  regardless  of  the  process.  How  many  of  these 
unsupervised  games  end  in  "I  sha'n't  play,"  in  angry 
bursts  of  tears,  or  even  in  blows!  How  many  fail  upon 
close  scrutiny  to  show  some  less  assertive  child,  who  never 
wins,  who  is  never  "chosen,"  who  might  better  not  be 
playing  at  all  than  never  to  "have  his  turn"! 

During  the  individualistic  period  games  must  be  for  the 
satisfaction  of  individualistic  desires.  Team  work  must 
await  a  later  development  of  child  nature.  But  while 
each  child  may  play  to  win,  his  future  welfare  demands 
that  his  efforts  be  in  harmony  with  certain  principles. 


The  Girl's  Inner  Life 


125 


1.  He  must  respect  the  rules  of  the  game. 

2.  He  must  "play  fair." 

3.  He  must  control  anger,  jealousy,  boastfulness,  and 
other  of  the  more  elemental  emotions. 

4.  He  must  consider  the  handicaps  suffered  by  some 
players,  and  see  that  they  get  a  " square  deal." 

Girls'  games  and  boys'  games  at  this  period  happily 
show  little  differentiation.  Almost  any  game  not  pre- 
judicial to  health  serves  to  call  into  action  the  moral 
forces  we  strive  to  cultivate.  The  game  to  a  certain 
extent  typifies  the  larger  life — the  life  of  effort,  contest, 
striving  to  win.  Self-control  and  proper  consideration  of 
others  in  the  one  must  serve  as  a  help  in  fitting  for  the 
other. 

Teachers  are  often  inclined  to  overlook  or  undervalue 
the  training  of  girls  in  games.  The  fact  is  that  girls 


Courtesy  of  L.  A.  Alderman 

Drill  work  as  well  as  games  is  beneficial  to  health  and  also 
teaches  self-control 

especially  need  this  training  as  the  woman's  sphere  in 
present-day  life  is  widening.  Men  have  always  had  con- 
tact with  the  world.  Women  have  in  times  past  had  to 


126  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

content  themselves  with  a  single  interest  involving  con- 
test— the  social  game. 

How  far  we  may  safely  go  in  utilizing  the  game  element 
— that  is,  the  contest  or  competition  element — in  school 
work  is  a  question  for  thought.  The  "rules  of  the  game " 
are  less  easy  to  enforce  here;  jealousies  are  harder  to 
control;  handicaps  are  more  in  evidence  and  less  easy 
to  make  allowance  for  in  contests;  the  discouragement  of 
failure  may  have  more  serious  results.  The  mere  fact 
of  class  grouping  involves  a  natural  competition,  health- 
ful and  beneficial  and  wisely  preparatory  for  future  living. 
More  emphasis  than  this  upon  rivalry  may  produce 
feverish  and  unhealthful  conditions,  far  removed  from  the 
mental  poise  we  desire  for  our  girls.  The  school  can  give 
the  girl  few  things  finer  than  the  ability  to  attack  work 
quietly  and  yet  with  determination  and  a  sense  of  power 
to  meet  and  overcome  obstacles. 

The  school  and  the  playground  form  the  growing  girl's 
community  life.  In  them  she  must  learn  to  practice 
community  virtues,  to  shun  community  evils,  and  to 
accept  community  responsibilities.  For  her  the  school 
and  the  playground  are  society.  Here  she  will  take  her 
first  lessons  in  the  pride  of  possessions,  in  the  prestige 
accompanying  them,  in  the  struggle  for  social  suprem- 
acy, in  doubtful  ideals  brought  from  all  sorts  of  doubtful 
sources.  Here  she  will  find  exaggerated  notions  of 
"style"  and  its  value,  impure  English,  whispered  unclean- 
ness  in  regard  to  sex  matters,  and  surreptitious  reading 
of  forbidden  books.  Here  also  she  will  find  worthier 
examples — clean,  pure  thought,  honesty  and  fair  dealing, 
pride  of  achievement  rather  than  of  externals,  fine  ideals 
exemplified  in  the  best  homes.  And  no  finer  or  more 
delicate  task  lies  before  teacher  and  mother  than  the 
guidance  of  the  girl  in  her  choice. 


The  Girl's  Inner  Life 


127 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  school  playground.     The  school  and  the  playground  form  the 
growing  girl's  community  life 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  model  playground.     The  model  playgrounds  in  the  parks  are 
doing  much  to  aid  the  playground  movement  • 


128  \  ^ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Going  to  school  is  rightly  considered  an  epoch  in  the 
child's  life.  No  longer  confined  to  the  narrow  circle  of 
home  and  family  friends,  the  child  may  lose  all  the  tiny 
beginnings  of  desired  virtues  in  this  larger  life.  Or,  on 
the  contrary,  when  the  school  recognizes  and  continues 
home  training,  or  supplies  what  has  not  been  given,  these 
foundation  virtues  may  be  so  applied  to  the  old  problems 
in  new  places  as  to  form  a  foundation  for  the  life  conduct 
of  the  girl  and  the  woman  that  is  to  be. 

Take  the  question  of  sex  knowledge,  so  widely  agitated 
of  late.  We  cannot  guard  our  girls  against  contact  with 
some  who  will  exert  a  harmful  influence.  We  can  only 
forearm  them  by  natural,  gradual  information  on  this 
subject  as  their  young  minds  reach  out  for  knowledge,  so 
that  sex  knowledge  comes,  as  other  knowledge  comes, 
without  solemnity  or  sentimentality  on  the  one  hand  or 
undue  mystery  and  a  hint  of  shame  on  the  other.  No 
course  in  sex  hygiene  can  take  the  place  of  this  early 
gradual  teaching,  answering  each  question  as  it  comes,  in 
a  perfectly  natural  way,  and  with  due  regard  for  the 
child's  wonder  at  all  of  nature's  marvelous  processes. 
The  little  girl  who  knows  presents  no  possibilities  to  the 
perverted  mind  which  seeks  to  astonish  and  excite  her. 
And  if  she  knows  because  "my  mother  told  me,"  the 
guard  is  as  nearly  perfect  as  can  be  devised. 

Upon  this  foundation  the  formal  course  in  sex  hygiene 
may  be  built.  Such  a  course  will  then  be  a  scientific 
summing  up,  with  application  to  personal  ideals  and 
requirements.  It  can  easily,  safely,  and  wisely  be 
deferred  until  the  adolescent  period. 

Teachers  and  mothers  can  find  scarcely  any  field  more 
worthy  of  their  thoughtful  concentration  than  the  culti- 
vation of  good  temper  in  the  girls  under  their  care.  The 
number  of  marriages  rendered  failures,  the  number  of 


The  Girl 's  Inner  Life  129 

homes  totally  wrecked,  by  sulking  or  nagging  or  out- 
bursts of  ill-temper,  can  probably  not  be  estimated. 
Neither  can  we  count  the  number  of  innocent  people  in 
homes  not  apparently  wrecked  whose  lives  are  rendered 
more  or  less  unhappy  by  association  with  the  woman  of 
uncertain  temper.  Think  of  the  families  in  which  some 
undesirable  trait  of  this  sort  seems  to  pass  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  accepted  by  each  member  calmly  as 
an  inheritance  not  to  be  thrown  off.  "It's  my  disposi- 
tion," one  will  tell  you  with  a  sigh.  "Mother  was  just 
the  same."  Surely  the  time  to  combat  these  undesirable 
traits  is  in  childhood,  and  probably  the  first  step  is  for 
the  mother,  who  looks  back  to  her  mother  as  "being  just 
the  same,"  to  stop  talking  or  thinking  about  inherited 
traits  and  at  least  to  present  an  outward  show  of  good 
temper  for  the  child  to  see. 

Then  there  is  the  teacher,  who  is  under  a  strain  and 
who  finds  annoyances  in  every  hour  which  tend  to  destroy 
her  equanimity.  Her  serenity,  if  she  can  accomplish  it, 
will  prove  an  excellent  example.  And  little  by  little  the 
mother  and  the  teacher  who  have  accomplished  self- 
control  for  themselves  may  teach  self-control  and  the 
beauties  of  good  temper  to  the  little  girls  who  live  in  the 
atmosphere  they  create. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  ADOLESCENT  GIRL 

ADOLESCENCE,  the  critical  period  of  the  train- 
ing of  the  boy  and  girl,  presents  a  complexity  of 
problems  before  which  parents  and  teachers  alike  are 
often  at  a  loss. 

The  adolescent  period,  the  gro wing-up  stage  of  the 
girl's  life,  is  physically  the  time  of  rapid  and  important 
bodily  changes.  New  cells,  new  tissue,  new  glands,  are 
forming.  New  functions  are  being  established.  The 
whole  nervous  system  is  keyed  to  higher  pitch  than  at 
any  previous  time.  Excessive  drain  upon  body  or  nerve 
force  at  this  time  must  mean  depletion  either  now  or  in 
the  years  of  maturity. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  keynote  of  the  girl's  adoles- 
cent mental  life  is  awakening.  Her  whole  nature  calls 
out  for  a  larger,  fuller,  more  intense  life.  Home,  school, 
society,  dress,  all  take  on  new  aspects  under  the  trans- 
forming power  of  the  new  sex  life  stirring  and  perfecting 
itself  within.  The  world  is  beckoning  to  the  emerging 
woman,  and  her  every  instinct  leads  her  to  follow  the 
beckoning  hand. 

Now,  if  ever,  the  girl  needs  the  influence  and  guidance 
of  some  wise  and  sympathetic  woman  friend.  It  may 
be — let  us  hope  it  is— her  mother;  or,  failing  that,  her 
teacher;  or,  better  than  either  alone,  both  mother  and 
teacher  working  in  sympathetic  harmony. 

The  first  care  demanded  for  the  maturing  girl  is  the 
safeguarding  of  her  health.  School  demands  at  this 
age  are  likely  to  be  excessive  under  existing  systems  of 

130 


The  Adolescent  Girl  131 

instruction.  In  many  ways  the  secondary  school,  in 
which  we  may  assume  our  adolescent  girl  to  be,  merits  the 
criticism  constantly  made,  that  it  works  its  pupils  too  hard 
or,  perhaps  more  accurately,  that  it  works  them  too  long. 
Nothing  but  the  closest  cooperation  between  parents 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Camp  Fire  Girls.     Outdoor  life  is  one  of  the  best  means  of 
safeguarding  the  girl's  health 

and  teachers  can  afford  either  of  them  the  necessary 
data  for  working  out  this  problem.  It  can  never  be 
anything  but  an  individual  problem,  since  girls  will 
always  differ  whether  school  courses  do  so  or  not,  and 
adjustment  of  one  to  the  other  must  be  made  every  time 
the  combination  is  effected.  Some  schools  content  them- 
selves with  asking  for  a  record  of  time  spent  on  school 
work  at  home.  Many  parents  merely  acquiesce  in  the 
girl's  statement  that  she  does  or  doesn't  have  to  study 
to-night,  and  the  matter  rests.  Other  schools  and  other 


132  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

parents  go  into  the  question  with  more  or  less  detail,  but 
usually  quite  independently  of  each  other  in  the  investi- 
gation. It  is  only  very  recently  that  anything  like  ade- 
quate knowledge  of  pupils  has  begun  to  be  gathered  and 
recorded  to  throw  light  upon  the  home-study  question. 

School  girls  naturally  divide  into  fairly  well-defined 
classes:  the  girl  who  is  overanxious  or  overconscientious 
about  her  work,  the  girl  who  intends  to  comply  with  rules 
but  has  no  special  anxiety  about  results,  and  the  girl  who 
habitually  takes  chances  in  evading  the  preparation  of 
lessons.  How  many  parents  know  at  all  definitely  to 
which  class  their  girl  belongs? 

The  same  girls  may  be  classified  again  with  regard  to 
activities  outside  the  school.  They  may  help  at  home 
much  or  little  or  not  at  all.  They  may  have  absorbing 
social  interests  or  practically  none.  They  may  be  in 
normal  health  or  may  already  be  nervous  wrecks  from 
causes  over  which  the  school  has  no  control. 

There  is  no  question  about  the  value  of  definite  informa- 
tion on  all  of  these  points  gathered  by  home  and  school 
acting  together  for  the  best  understanding  of  the  child. 
The  modern  physician  keeps  a  carefully  tabulated  record 
of  his  patient's  history  and  condition.  The  school  should 
do  the  same  thing  and  should  prescribe  with  due  reference 
to  such  record. 

It  frequently  happens,  however,  that  the  schoolgirl's 
health  is  menaced  less  by  her  hours  of  school  work  than 
by  misuse  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the  twenty-four 
hours.  No  mother  has  a  right  to  accuse  the  school  of 
breaking  down  her  daughter's  health  unless  she  is  duly 
careful  that  the  girl  has  a  proper  amount  of  sleep,  exercise 
in  the  open  air,  and  hygienic  clothing,  and  that  her  life 
outside  the  school  is  not  of  the  sort  that  we  describe  in 
these  davs  as  "strenuous." 


The  Adolescent  Girl  133 

It  is  this  strenuous  life  which  our  girls  must  be  taught 
to  avoid.  Any  daily  or  weekly  program  which  is  crowded 
with  activities  is  a  dangerous  program  for  developing 
girlhood.  The  very  atmosphere  of  many  modern  homes 
is  charged  with  the  spirit  of  haste,  and  parents  scarcely 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

A  mountain  camp.     Good  health  is  conserved  by  outdoor  games 
and  exercise 

realize  that  the  daughter's  time  is  too  full,  because  their 
own  is  too  full  also.  They  have  no  time  to  stop  and  realize 
anything.  A  quiet  home  is  an  essential  help  in  pre- 
serving a  girl's  health  and  well-being. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the  children  of  a  family 
should  be  troubled  as  little  as  possible  with  the  worries 
of  their  elders.  Parents  are  often  unaware  how  much  of 
the  family  burden  their  sons  and  daughters  are  secretly 
bearing,  or  how  long  sometimes  they  continue  to  struggle 
under  the  burden  after  it  has  mercifully  slipped  from 
father's  or  mother's  shoulders. 


134  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Good  health  means  buoyancy,  a  springing  to  meet  the 
future  with  a  tingle  of  joy  in  facing  the  unknown.  The 
adolescent  period  is  essentially  an  unfolding  time,  in 
which  probably  for  the  first  time  choice  seems  to  pre- 
sent itself  in  a  large  way  in  ordering  the  girl's  life.  In 
school  she  is  confronted  with  a  choice  of  studies  or  of 
courses.  To  make  these  choices  she  must  look  farther 
ahead  and  ask  herself  many  questions  as  to  the  future. 
What  is  she  to  be  ?  Nor  is  she  loath  to  face  this  question. 
Some  of  the  very  happiest  of  the  girl's  dreams  at  this 
time  are  concerned  with  that  problematical  future.  There 
was  a  day  when  girls  dreamed  only  of  husbands,  children, 
and  homes.  Then,  as  the  pendulum  swung,  they  dreamed 
of  careers,  a  hand  in  the  "world's  work."  Now  they 
dream  of  either  or  both,  or  they  halt  confused  by  the  wide 
outlook.  But  of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure — our  girl  is 
dreaming,  and  she  selwom  tells  her  dreams. 

It  is  during  this  period  in  a  girl's  life  that  she  is  most 
likely  to  chafe  at  restraint,  to  picture  a  wonderful  life 
outside  her  home  environment,  and  to  demand  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  her  own  choice.  As  she  goes  on  through 
high  school,  she  longs  more  and  more  for  "freedom," 
quite  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  what  seems  freedom 
in  her  elders  is,  in  reality,  often  farthest  removed  from 
that  elusive  condition.  Her  imagination  is  taking  wild 
flights  in  these  days.  Sometimes  we  catch  fleeting 
glimpses  of  its  often  disordered  fancies,  although  oftener 
we  see  only  the  most  docile  of  exteriors  standing  guard 
over  an  inner  self  of  which  we  do  not  dream. 

The  wise  mother  and  the  wise  teacher  are  they  whose 
adolescent  memories,  longings,  misapprehensions,  and 
mistakes  are  not  forgotten,  but  are  being  sympathetically 
and  understandingly  searched  for  light  in  guiding  the 
girls  whose  guardians  they  are.  They  recognize  once 


The  Adolescent  Girl 


135 


and  for  all  that  normal  girls  are  rilled  with  what  seem 
abnormal  notions,  desires,  and  ideals.  They  recall  how 
little  they  used  to  know  of  life,  and  the  pitfalls  they  barely 
escaped,  if  they  did  escape.  Thus  only  can  they  keep 
close  to  the  girl  in  spirit  and  help  her  as  they  once  needed 


A   study  room.     The  life  of  the  adolescent  girl  is  by  no  means 
bounded  by  the  schoolroom  walls 

help.  They  respect  her  longing  for  freedom  of  choice 
and  they  teach  her  how  to  choose.  It  is  of  little  use  to 
attempt  to  clip  the  wings  of  the  girl's  imagination,  how- 
ever riotous.  The  wings  are  safely  hidden  from  our 
profaning  touch.  Instead  we  must  teach  her  to  dream 
true  dreams  and  to  choose  real  things  rather  than  shams. 
At  this  time  the  girl's  life  often  seems  to  the  casual 
observer  to  be  bounded  by  her  schoolroom  walls.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  school  work  appeals  to  her  much 
less  than  it  has  probably  done  earlier  or  than  it  will  do  in 
her  college  days.  Dress  is  becoming  an  absorbing  subject. 
10 


136  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

"The  boys,"  however  little  you  may  think  it,  are  seldom 
far  from  her  thoughts.  Intimate  friendship  with  another 
adolescent  girl  perhaps  affords  an  outlet,  beneficial  or 
otherwise,  for  the  crowding  life  which  is  too  precious  to 
bear  the  unsympathetic  touch  of  the  world  of  her  elders. 
Or  perhaps  the  girl  becomes  solitary  in  her  habits,  living 
in  a  world  of  romance  found  in  books  or  in  her  own 
dreams,  impatient  with  the  world  about  her,  feeling  sure 
she  is  "misunderstood." 

What  can  home,  school,  and  society  in  general  do  for 
the  adolescent  girl,  that  her  awakening  may  be  sweet  and 
sane,  that  her  future  usefulness  may  not  be  impaired  or 
her  life  embittered  by  wrong  choice  at  the  brink  of  woman- 
hood? 

Any  wise  plan  for  the  training  of  girls  "in  their  teens" 
must  include  provision  for: 

1.  Outdoor  play  and  exercise.     In  the  country  this  is 
much  more  easily  accomplished.     City  problems  bearing 
on  this  question  are  among  the  most  acute  of  all  concern- 
ing boys  and  girls. 

2 .  Systematic  attention  to  the  work  of  the  schoolroom. 
Thus  the  girl  acquires  habits  of  concentration  and  industry 
that  she  will  need  all  her  life. 

3.  Some  manual  work  in  kitchen,  garden,  sewing  room, 
or  workshop.     Here  the  girl's  natural  tastes  and  inclina- 
tion may  be  discovered  and  trained. 

4.  Food  for  the  imagination.     Books,  music,  pictures, 
inspiring  plays.     The  Campfire  Girls'  movement  is  valu- 
able in  its  imaginative  aspect. 

5.  Attention  to  dress.     Laying  the  foundation  for  wise 
lifelong  habits. 

6.  Healthful  social  intercourse  under  the  best  conditions 
with  boys  and  with  other  girls,  both  at  home  and  at  school. 
Croquet,  tennis,  skating,  offer  fine  opportunities  for  such 


The  Adolescent  Girl 


137 


intercourse.  "Parties,"  dancing,  present  more  difficulties, 
but  have  their  value  under  right  conditions.  Not  all 
"fun"  should  include  the  boys.  Athletic  contests  between 
girls  do  much  to  develop  a  neglected  side  of  girl  nature. 
7.  Companionship  with  her  mother,  or  some  other 
woman  of  experience.  Nothing  can  quite  take  the  place 


A  botanical  laboratory  in  Portland,  Oregon.     Through  systematic 

attention  to  the  work  of  the  schoolroom  the  girl  acquires 

habits  of  concentration  and  industry 

of  this.  The  girl  is  sailing  out  upon  an  uncharted  sea.  She 
needs  the  help  of  someone  who  has  sailed  that  way  before. 
8.  Preparation  for  marriage  and  motherhood.  Much 
that  the  girl  should  know  can  come  to  her  through  no 
other  medium  than  that  indicated  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph— confidential  intercourse  with  the  woman  of 
mature  years.  For  the  sake  of  the  girls  who  fail  to  find 
this  woman  elsewhere  every  school  for  adolescent  girls 
should  have  on  its  faculty  a  woman  who  will  "mother" 
its  girls. 


138  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

9.  Acquaintance  with  the  lives  of  some  of  the  great 
women  of  history,  as  well  as  of  some  who  have  lived 
inspiring  lives  in  the  girl's  own  country  and  time.     A  long 
list  of  such  women  might  be  made. 

10.  Some  unoccupied  time.     Our  girl  must  not  be  per- 
mitted to  acquire  the  bad  habit  of  rushing  through  life. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  quiet  retreat.     Every  girl  needs  some  unoccupied  time  in  order 
that  she  may  not  acquire  the  habit  of  rushing 

ii.  Study  of  vocations  and  avocations  for  women. 
Avocations — the  work  which  serves  as  play — should  be 
wisely  studied,  and  some  avocation  adopted  by  every  girl. 

Part  of  this  training  girls  everywhere  in  this  country 
may  get  if  the  opportunities  open  to  them  are  seized. 
The  proportion  of  purely  mental  work  and  of  handwork 
will  vary  according  to  the  locality  in  which  the  girl  finds 
herself.  In  general,  however,  such  matters  receive  more 
consideration  than  the  more  complex  ones  of  direct 
social  bearing. 


The  Adolescent  Girl  139 

How  a  girl  shall  dress,  with  whom  and  under  what 
conditions  she  shall  find  her  social  life,  what  she  shall 
know  of  herself,  of  woman  in  general,  of  the  opposite  sex, 
what  her  relations  with  her  mother  shall  be — these  things 
are  more  often  than  not  left  to  chance  or  to  the  girl's 
untrained  inclination. 

The  dress  question  rests  fundamentally  upon  the 
personal  question,  What  do  clothes  mean  to  the  girl? 
Behind  that  we  usually  find  what  clothes  mean  to  her 
mother,  to  her  teachers,  to  the  women  who  have  a  part 
in  her  social  life.  Instinct  teaches  the  girl  to  adorn  her 
person.  Environment  is  largely  responsible  for  the  sort 
of  adornment  she  will  choose.  To  bring  the  matter  at 
once  to  a  practical  basis,  what  standards  shall  we  set  up 
for  our  girls  to  see,  to  admire,  and  to  adopt  as  their  own? 

"Well  dressed"  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  simply, 
or  serviceably,  or  conspicuously,  or  becomingly,  or 
fashionably,  or  cheaply,  or  appropriately,  according  to 
the  standard  of  the  person  who  uses  the  term.  It  would 
necessarily  be  impossible  to  establish  a  common  standard 
for  any  considerable  group  of  women,  since  individual 
conditions  must  govern  individual  choice.  A  wise  standard 
for  girls  and  their  mothers,  however,  will  conform  to 
certain  principles,  even  though  the  application  of  the 
principles  be  widely  different. 

These  principles  may  be  expressed  somewhat  as  follows : 

1 .  Beauty  in  dress  is  expressed  in  line,  color,  and  adapta- 
tion to  personal  appearance,  not  in  expense. 

2.  Fitness  depends  upon  the  occasion  and  upon  the 
relation  of  cost  to  the  wearer's  income. 

3.  Simplicity  conduces  to  beauty,  fitness,  and  to  ease 
of  upkeep. 

4.  Upkeep,   including   durability  and  cleansing  possi- 
bilities, is  as  important  a  consideration  in  selecting  clothes 


140  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

as  in  selecting  buildings  and  automobiles.  Freshness 
outranks  elegance. 

5.  Individuality  should  be  the  keynote  of  expression 
in  dress. 

Conformity  to  the  foregoing  principles  in  establishing 
a  personal  standard  will  of  necessity  prevent  slavish 
imitation  and  the  striving  to  reach  some  other  woman's 
standard  which  bears  again  and  again  such  bitter  fruit. 
The  erroneous  notion  fostered  by  thousands  of  American 
women,  that  if  you  can  only  look  like  the  women  of  some 
social  set  to  which  you  aspire  you  are  like  them  for  all 
social  purposes,  is  a  fallacy,  in  spite  of  its  general  accept- 
ance. We  might  as  well  expect  blue  eyes,  straight  noses, 
or  number  three  shoes  to  form  the  basis  of  a  social  group. 

The  mother  or  the  teacher  who  bases  her  instruction 
in  this  matter  on  the  assumption  that  pretty  clothes  of 
necessity  breed  vanity  and  all  its  attendant  evils  is  merely 
sowing  the  seed  of  her  influence  upon  stony  ground  when 
once  the  girl  discovers  her  belief.  Nature  is  telling  the 
girl  to  make  herself  beautiful.  It  is  not  only  useless  but 
wrong  to  set  ourselves  against  this  instinct.  Instead  we 
must  show  her  what  beauty  in  clothes  means,  and  how  to 
attain  it  without  paying  for  it  more  than  she  can  afford, 
in  money,  in  time,  or  in  sacrifice  of  her  spiritual  self. 
The  school  does  its  share  when  it  teaches  the  general 
theory  of  beauty,  with  practical  illustration  in  study  of 
line  and  color  schemes.  The  individual  teacher  and  the 
mother  have  to  impart  the  far  more  delicate  lessons 
concerning  influence  and  cost — mental,  moral,  and 
spiritual — in  other  words,  the  psychology  of  clothes. 

Our  girl  must  grow  up  fully  cognizant  of  what  her 
clothes  cost.  When  she  desires,  as  she  doubtless  will 
desire,  silk  petticoats,  and  an  "up-to-date"  hat,  and  high- 
heeled  shoes,  and  an  absurdly  beruffled  dress,  and  a 


The  Adolescent  Girl  141 

wonderful  array  of  ribbons,  she  must  discover  what  each 
and  every  one  of  these  things  costs  and  whether  it  is 
worth  the  price.  The  high  heels  sometimes  cost  health; 
the  conspicuous  dress  may  cost  the  good  opinion  or  the 
admiration  of  those  who  value  modesty  above  style;  the 
silk  petticoat  may  be  bought  at  the  cost  of  mother's  or 
father's  sacrifice  of  something  needed  far  more;  the 
trimming  on  the  hat  may  have  cost  the  life  of  a  beautiful 
mother  bird  and  the  slow  starvation  of  her  nestlings. 
Nothing  the  girl  wears  costs  money  only. 

She  must  also  learn  that  fine  clothes  are  out  of  place  on 
a  girl  whose  body  is  not  finely  cared  for;  that  money  is 
better  expended  for  quality  than  for  show;  and,  most  of 
all,  that  clothes  are  secondary  matters,  when  all  is  said. 

Wisdom  and  sympathy  and  tact  are  never  more  needed 
than  in  this  sort  of  teaching.  The  principles  of  good 
dressing  cannot  be  laid  down  baldly  and  coldly,  like  mathe- 
matical rules,  for  the  guidance  of  a  girl  palpitating  with 
youthful  and  beauty -loving  instincts.  The  mother  who 
says,  merely,  "Certainly  not.  You  don't  need  them.  I 
never  had  silk  stockings  when  I  was  a  girl,"  is  failing  to 
meet  her  obligations  quite  as  much  as  the  mother  who 
allows  her  daughter  to  appear  at  school  in  a  costume 
suited  only  to  some  formal  evening  function.  There  are 
mothers  of  each  of  these  sorts. 

The  wise  mother  whose  daughter  has  developed  a 
sudden  scorn  for  the  stockings  she  has  worn  contentedly 
enough  hitherto  does  not  dismiss  the  subject  in  the 
"certainly  not"  way,  however  kindly  spoken.  She  treats 
her  daughter's  request  seriously,  asks  a  few  questions,  in 
the  answers  to  which  "the  other  girls"  will  probably  figure 
largely,  and  talks  it  over. 

"Of  course,  there  is  the  first  cost  to  consider.  The 
price  of  three  or  four  pairs  of  silk  stockings  would  give 


142  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

you  a  dozen  pairs  of  fine  cotton.  Yes,  I  know  there  are 
cheaper  silk  ones  to  be  had,  but  their  quality  is  poor.  We 
should  scarcely  want  you  to  wear  coarse,  poorly  made 
ones.  And  of  course  you  know  silk  ones  do  not  last  so 
long.  They  are  pretty,  and  pleasant  to  wear,  and  cool, 
I  know.  How  would  it  do  to  have  silk  ones  to  wear  with 
your  new  party  dress,  and  keep  on  with  the  cotton  ones 
for  school?  We  don't  want  to  be  overdressed  in  business 
hours,  you  know.  Then,  it  seems  to  me,  it  is  a  little  hard 
on  the  really  poor  girls  at  school  if  the  rest  of  you  are 
inclined  to  overdress.  They  are  so  likely  to  get  into  the 
habit  of  spending  their  money  for  cheap  imitations  of 
what  you  other  girls  wear — or  if  they  are  too  sensible  for 
that  they  are  probably  unhappy  because  they  have  to 
look  different.  Wouldn't  it  be  kinder  not  to  wear  expen- 
sive things  to  school  at  all?" 

The  object  is  not  so  much  to  keep  the  girl  from  having 
unsuitable  garments  as  to  teach  her  to  see  all  sides  of 
the  clothes  question,  to  realize  her  reponsibilities,  and  to 
learn  to  choose  wisely  for  herself. 

It  is  highly  desirable  that  mothers  keep  up  their  own 
standards  of  dress  as  they  approach  middle  life  and  their 
daughters  enter  the  adolescent  period.  Some  women  even 
make  the  mistake  of  dressing  shabbily  that  they  may 
gown  their  daughters  resplendently.  They  are  educat- 
ing their  daughters  to  a  false  standard  and  to  a  selfish  life. 

Teachers  also  probably  seldom  realize  how  wide  an 
influence  they  may  exercise  upon  their  adolescent  girl 
pupils  in  the  matter  of  dress.  Many  a  girl  forms  her 
standard  and  her  ideal  from  what  her  teacher  wears. 
Teachers  must  accept  their  responsibility  and  make  good 
use  of  the  opportunities  it  gives  them. 

It  is  approximately  at  the  time  of  her  awakening  to 
the  beautifying  instinct  that  the  girl  begins  to  take  a 


The  Adolescent  Girl 


143 


special  interest  in  social  matters.  Here  again  she  needs 
wise  guidance,  and  usually  more  guidance  and  less  direc- 
tion than  most  girls  get.  The  American  mother  is  prone 
in  social  questions  to  trust  her  daughter  too  much,  or 
not  enough,  and  to  train  her  very  little. 

In  many  cases  adolescent  society  centers  about  the 
school.  There  are  the  everyday  walks  and  talks  of  the 
boys  and  girls,  the  games  and  meets  and  contests,  with 
their  attendant  social  features,  the  literary  societies  and 
debating  clubs,  the  school  parties  and  dances.  The 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

Skating  offers  fine  opportunity  for  healthful  social  intercourse 

school  thus  comes  to  assume  a  considerable  part  in  the 
boy's  and  girl's  social  training,  much  more  than  was  the 
case  twenty  or  even  ten  years  ago;  and  the  whole  trend 
of  educational  movement  in  this  matter  is  toward  doing 
more  even  than  it  now  does. 


1 44  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

In  some  cases  schools  have  merely  drifted  into  this 
social  work,  without  definite  aims  and  without  conspicu- 
ously good  results,  just  as  some  parents  have  drifted  into 
acceptance  of  the  situation,  with  little  oversight  and  a 
comfortable  shifting  of  responsibility. . 

When  this  sort  of  school  and  this  sort  of  parent  happen 
to  be  the  joint  guardians  of  a  girl's  social  training,  it 


Games  form  an  important  part  of  the  adolescent  girl's  life 

usually  happens  that  the  girl  discovers  some  things  by  a 
painful  if  not  heartbreaking  trial-and-error  method,  and 
other  things  she  quite  fails  to  discover  at  all.  Most  of 
all,  she  needs  her  mother  at  this  time — a  wise,  interested, 
companionable  mother,  who  knows  much  about  what 
goes  on  at  school  parties  and  at  school  generally,  but  who 
never  forces  confidences  and,  indeed,  who  never  needs 
to;  an  elder  sister  sort  of  mother,  who  helps.  And  she 
needs  also  teachers  who  supervise  and  chaperon  social 
affairs  with  a  full  realization  that  social  training  is  in 
progress  and  that  lives  are  being  made  or  marred. 


The  Adolescent  Girl  145 

There  are  schools  and  there  are  mothers  who  look  upon 
every  phase  of  school  life  as  contributing  to  the  educative 
process,  and  these  find  in  the  social  affairs  of  the  school 
their  opportunities  to  teach  some  vital  lessons.  Some 
schools  are  lengthening  the  free  time  between  periods, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  the  informal  social 
intercourse  between  pupils. 

Wise  teachers  as  well  as  wise  mothers  will  see  that  the 
social  phase  of  school  life,  especially  in  the  evening,  is 
not  overdone.  Not  only  health  but  future  usefulness  and 
happiness  suffer  if  the  girl  "goes  out"  so  much  that  going 
out  becomes  the  rule  and  staying  at  home  the  exception. 
It  is  not  usually,  however,  the  social  affairs  of  the  school 
alone  which  cause  the  girl  to  develop  the  habit  of  too 
many  evenings  away  from  home.  It  is  the  school  party 
plus  the  church  social,  plus  the  moving  pictures,  plus  the 
girls'  club,  plus  the  theater,  plus  choir  practice,  plus  the 
informal  evening  at  her  chum's,  plus  a  dozen  other 
dissipations,  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  change  a 
quiet,  home-loving  little  schoolgirl  into  a  gadding,  over- 
wrought, uneasy  woman. 

Unless  one  has  tried  it,  it  is  perhaps  hard  to  realize 
how  difficult  it  is  for  an  individual  mother  to  regulate 
social  custom  in  her  community  even  for  her  own  daughter 
without  causing  the  girl  unhappiness  and  possibly  destroy- 
ing her  delight  in  her  home.  No  girl  enjoys  leaving  the 
party  at  ten  when  "the  other  girls"  stay  until  twelve. 
Nor  does  she  enjoy  declining  invitations  when  the  other 
girls  all  go.  But  what  the  individual  mother  finds 
difficult,  community  sentiment  can  easily  accomplish. 
The  woman's  club  or  the  mothers'  club  or  the  parent- 
teacher  association,  or  better  yet  all  three,  may  profitably 
discuss  the  question,  and  may  set  about  the  creation  of 
the  sentiment  required. 


146  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Quite  as  important  as  "How  often  shall  she  go?"  is  the 
question  "With  whom  is  she  going?"  There  are  two 
ways  of  approaching  the  problem  here  involved.  One 
requires  more  knowledge  for  the  girl  herself,  that  she 
may  better  judge  what  constitutes  a  worthy  companion. 
The  other  is  reached  by  the  better  training  of  boys, 
that  more  of  them  may  develop  into  the  sort  of  young 
men  with  whom  we  may  trust  our  daughters. 

Parents  who  take  the  time  and  trouble  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  boys  in  their  daughter's  social  circle 
will  find  themselves  better  able  to  aid  the  girl  in  her 
choice  of  friends.  The  very  best  place  for  this  getting 
acquainted  is  the  girl's  own  home,  to  which,  therefore, 
young  people  should  often  be  informally  invited.  Nor 
should  parents  neglect  occasional  opportunities  to  observe 
their  daughter's  friends  in  other  environment  —  at  the 
church  social  or  supper,  at  entertainments,  at  school,  or 
on  the  street.  Fortunately  the  revolt  against  a  dual 
standard  of  purity  for  men  and  women  holds  promise  of 
a  larger  proportion  of  clean,  controlled,  trustworthy  boys. 

It  will  never  be  quite  safe,  however,  to  trust  either 
our  boys  or  our  girls  to  resist  instincts  implanted  by 
nature  and  restrained  only  by  the  artificial  barriers  of 
society,  unless  we  keep  their  imaginations  busy,  and 
unless  we  implant  ideals  of  conduct  high  enough  to  make 
them  desire  self-control  for  ends  which  seem  beautiful 
and  good  to  themselves.  The  adolescent  period  is  espe- 
cially favorable  for  the  formation  of  ideals,  and  a  high 
conception  of  love  and  marriage  will  probably  prove  the 
truest  safeguard  our  boys  and  girls  can  have. 

The  reading  of  the  period  is  of  special  importance. 
At  no  other  time  of  life  will  altruism,  self-sacrifice,  high 
ideals  of  honor  and  of  love,  make  so  strong  an  appeal  as 
now.  Adolescent  reading  must  make  the  most  of  this 


The  Adolescent  Girl  147 

fact.  Some  of  the  great  love  stories  of  literature  and 
biography  should  be  read,  especially  one  or  two  which 
involve  the  putting  aside  of  desire  at  the  call  of  a 
higher  motive.  At  least  one  story  involving  the  world-old 
theme  of  the  betrayed  woman — The  Scarlet  Letter, 
perhaps,  or  Adam  Bede — should  be  "required  reading" 
for  every  adolescent  girl,  and  should  after  reading  be 
the  subject  of  thoughtful  and  loving  discussion  by  the 
girl  and  her  mother  in  one  of  the  confidential  chats  which 
should  be  frequent  between  them. 

Girls  must  learn  from  their  mothers  and  teachers  to 
distrust  the  boy  who  shows  any  inclination  to  take 
liberties,  and  they  must  also  learn  that  girls,  consciously 
or  more  often  otherwise,  daily  put  temptation  in  the 
way  of  boys  who  desire  to  do  right,  and  invite  liberties 
from  the  other  sort.  Restraint,  in  dress,  in  carriage,  in 
manners,  and  in  conversation,  must  be  made  to  seem  right 
and  desirable  to  the  girl,  for  her  own  sake  and  no  less  for 
the  good  of  the  other  sex.  This  of  course  means  that 
teachers  must  set  fine  examples  before  the  girl  in  their 
own  dress  and  deportment. 

To  counteract  the  dangerous  tendencies  which  have 
become  intensified  by  the  wholesale  breaking  of  social 
customs  during  the  war,  it  is  necessary  that  parents  and 
teachers  give  very  careful  attention  to  the  dress  of  girls 
and  to  the  demeanor  of  boys  and  girls  of  the  adolescent 
period.  Many  teachers  are  improperly  dressed  and  set- 
ting the  wrong  example.  Many  parents  are  dressing 
carelessly  and  sending  their  girls  to  high  school  improp- 
erly dressed.  The  boys  are  tempted  —  yes,  are  forced 
—  to  observe  the  bodies  of  their  girl  classmates,  in  study- 
rooms,  halls,  laboratories,  and  on  playgrounds.  These 
girls  who  are  immodestly  dressed  are  not  only  exposing 
themselves  to  danger  and  inviting  familiarities,  but  are 


148  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

tempting  the  boys  to  go  wrong.  Many  of  the  tragedies 
in  our  schools  can  be  traced  to  this  source. 

To  handle  this  very  serious  and  very  difficult  problem 
it  is  necessary  that  all  mothers  of  high-school  boys  and 
girls  organize  and  cooperate  with  principals  and  teachers. 
The  task  is  gigantic,  for  the  customs  and  suggestions 
which  are  responsible  for  present-day  conditions  are 
many  and  permeate  our  magazines,  books,  moving 
pictures,  dances,  and  nearly  all  social  gatherings. 

Many  superintendents,  teachers,  and  parents  have 
been  very  seriously  studying  these  social  and  moral 
problems  and  making  plans  to  start  reforms  at  once  in 
the  public  schools.  The  most  practical  method  thus  far 
presented  appears  to  be  the  requirement  of  uniform  dress 
for  all  girls  in  the  upper  grades  and  in  high  school.  This 
custom  is  already  established  in  some  of  our  best  private 
schools.  Uniform  dress  has  a  very  democratic  training 
which  commends  it.  It  is  less  expensive  than  the  present 
varied  styles.  It  is  practical,  for  it  avoids  discrimination 
which  would  lead  to  many  private  difficulties. 

The  girl  has  now  reached  the  time  when  her  bits  of 
knowledge  of  sex  matters,  gained  gradually  since  the 
first  stirrings  of  curiosity  in  her  little  girlhood,  should  be 
gathered,  summarized,  and  given  practical  application 
to  the  mature  life  she  will  soon  enter  upon. 

Thoughtful  investigation  does  not  lead  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  girls  need  especially  a  detailed  physiological 
presentation  of  the  subject  so  much  as  a  study  of  the 
psychological  aspects  of  the  sex  life.  Personal  purity  is 
primarily  a  matter  of  mind. 

Girls  who  all  their  lives  have  been  familiar  with  the 
mystery  of  birth,  who  at  puberty  have  been  instructed 
in  the  delicacy  of  the  sexual  organs  and  processes  and  in 
the  care  they  must  exercise  to  bring  them  to  normal 


The  Adolescent  Girl  1 49 

development,  are  now  ready  to  be  taught  the  vital 
necessity  of  subordinating  the  animal  to  the  spiritual 
in  the  sex  life. 

It  may  seem  unwise  and  unnecessary  to  put  before 
young  girls  so  dark  and  distressing  a  subject  as  the  social 
evil.  Yet  I  know  of  no  way  to  combat  this  evil  without 
teaching  all  girls  what  must  be  avoided.  When  girls 
realize  that  the  social  evil 

1.  Rests   upon   a   foundation   of   purely   unrestrained 
animal  instinct; 

2.  That  a  single  sexual  misstep  has  ruined  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  girls'  lives; 

3 .  That  ignorance  or  the  one  misstep  has  led  thousands 
to  a  permanent  life  of  shame; 

4.  That   such   a  life  means,    sooner   or  later,   sorrow, 
impaired  or  destroyed  health,  disgrace,  and  early 
death  to  its  woman  victims; 

5.  That  the  social  evil  destroys  the  efficiency  and  the 
moral  worth  of  men; 

6.  That  it  sets  free  deadly  disease  germs  to  permeate 
society,  causing  untold  misery  among  the  innocent, 

then,  and  not  until  then,  can  they  be  taught 

1.  To  recognize  and  fear  animal  instinct  unrestrained 
by  higher  motive; 

2.  To  guard  their  own  instincts; 

3.  To  hold  men  to  a  high  standard  of  social  purity 
and  to  help  them  attain  it. 

Nor  does  this  teaching  necessitate  morbid  consideration 
of  the  subject.  It  will,  in  fact,  in  many  cases  clear  away 
the  morbid  curiosity  and  surreptitious  seeking  after 
information  in  which  untaught  girls  indulge.  Skillfully 
and  delicately  taught  this  knowledge  as  an  important 
and  serious  part  of  woman's  work,  girls  will  be  sweeter 


150  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

and  more  womanly  for  the  knowledge  of  their  responsi- 
bility to  society  and  to  their  unborn  offspring. 

Schools  that  attempt  such  a  course  for  girls  are  find- 
ing their  chief  difficulty  in  discovering  people  properly 
endowed  by  nature  and  properly  trained  to  teach  it. 
To  give  such  work  into  any  but  the  wisest  hands  invites 
disaster.  To  make  it  a  study  of  the  physical  basis  of 
sexual  life  is  disaster  in  itself.  Service,  through  making 
one's  self  a  pure  member  of  society,  and  through  helping 
others  to  keep  the  same  standard — this  must  be  the 
keynote  of  the  teaching,  an  education  toward  social 
efficiency  and  social  uplift. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  GIRL'S  WORK 

THE  adolescent  girl,  already  the  product  of  a 
general  training  which  has  aimed  at  all-round 
development  of  body,  mind,  and  spirit,  is  now  ready  for 
the  specializing  which  shall  place  her  in  tune  with  the 
world  of  industry  and  help  her  to  make  for  herself  a 
permanent  and  useful  place  in  society.  Henceforward 
the  girl's  training  must  face  her  double  possibilities.  She 
must  not  be  allowed  to  have  an  eye  single  to  making  an 
industrial  place  for  herself;  nor  can  those  who  educate 
her  fail  to  see  the  double  work  she  must  do. 

Any  consideration  of  the  subject  of  girls'  work  outside 
the  home  or  work  in  the  home  for  financial  return  must 
begin  with  a  general  survey  of  the  field  of  industry, 
discovering  what  women  have  done  and  are  doing, 
together  with  the  effects  of  gainful  occupation  upon  the 
character  and  efficiency  of  women. 

The  United  States  Census  reports  for  1910  give  the 
following  figures: 


Year 


Number  of  Females  Ten  Years  and  Over 


Engaged  in  Gainful  Occupations 

l88o 2,647,157 

iSQO 4,005,532 

1900 5,319,397 

I910 8,075,772 

It  is  thus  seen  that  gainful  occupations  for  women  have 
increased  greatly  in  the  thirty  years  covered  by  the  report. 
At  present  21.2  per  cent  of  all  females,  or  23  . 4  of  all  over 
ten  years  of  age,  are  engaged  in  work  for  wages.  Further 

11  151 


1 5  2  I  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

tabulation  brings  out  the  fact  that,  whereas  the  age  period 
from  twenty-one  to  forty-four  shows  the  largest  per- 
centage of  men  employed  in  gainful  work,  women  show 
the  largest  proportion  of  their  numbers  so  employed 
during  the  age  period  from  sixteen  to  twenty.  Evidently 
the  girls  are  at  work.  The  figures  follow: 

MALES  TEN  YEARS  AND  OVER  FEMALES  TEN  YEARS  AND  OVER 

Age  Period  Per  Cent  Age  Period  Per  Cent 

10-13 16.6  10-13 8.0 

J4-i5 41-4  14-15 iQ-8 

16-20 79.2  16-20 39.9 

21-44 96.7  21-44 26.3 

45  and  over 85 . 9  45  and  over 15.7 

Compare  with  these  figures  the  following  table: 

AGES  AT  WHICH  WOMEN  MARRY  i 
ii.  2  per  cent,  or  ;H>,  of  all  women  marry  before    20 
47-3    "       "      "  H       "  25 

72.4   "     "    •"  X     "  30 

83.3    "       "      "  H       "          "         "          "  35 

88.8    "       "       "  %       "  45 

92.1    "      "      "  »H2  "  "  55 

93-3    "       "       "  Ws  "  "  65 

93.8    "       "       "  %  "  "         "  "         ioo 

It  will  be  observed  that  since  the  percentage  of  women 
at  work  decreases  after  twenty,  the  number  of  women 
who  marry  and  presumably  become  homemakers  is  very 
largely  increased. 

These  figures  would  seem  to  indicate  that  girls  go  to 
work  early,  that  as  yet  industry  does  not  largely  prevent 
marriage,  and  that  marriage  does  in  many  or  most  cases 
stop  women's  industrial  careers. 

Inquiry  as  to  what  women  are  doing  in  the  industrial 
world  elicits  important  facts.  It  would  seem  that  Olive 
Schreiner's  "For  the  present  we  take  all  labor  for  our 

1  From  Puffer,  Vocational  Guidance,  based  on  Census  figures. 


The  GirVs  Work 


153 


province"  is  very  nearly  a  bare  statement  of  attested 
fact.  The  Census  report  includes  509  closely  classified 
occupations.  Women  are  found  in  all  but  43.  Even 
allowing  for  the  inaccuracy  of  such  figures,  and  passing 


Photograph  by  C.  Park  Pressey 

The  IQIO  Census  showed  over  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 

women  employed  as  farm   laborers.     This  number  did  not 

include  wives  or  daughters  of  farm-owners 

over  the  occupations  which  take  in  only  an  occasional 
woman,  it  is  seen  that  "woman's  sphere"  can  no  longer 
be  arbitrarily  denned.  The  following  facts  and  figures 
for  women  give  us  food  for  thought: 

Farm  laborers  (working  out) 337,522 

Iron  and  steel  industries 29,182 

Chemical  industries *5,577 

Clay,  glass,  and  stone  industries 11,849 

Electrical  supply  factories 11,041 

Lumber  and  furniture  industries 17,214 

Steam  railroad  laborers 3,248 

The  foregoing  facts  concern  occupations  which  were 


154  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

once  associated  entirely  with  men.     If  we  enter  the  ranks 
of  more  womanly  work  we  shall  find: 

Dressmakers 447, 760 

Milliners 122,070 

Sewers  and  sewing-machine  operators 231,106 

Telephone  operators 88,262 

Nurses 187,420 

Clerks  and  saleswomen  in  stores 362,081 

Stenographers  and  typists 263,31 5 

Bookkeepers,  cashiers,  and  accountants. ..  187.155 

Cooks 333,436 

Laundresses  (not  in  laundries) 520,004 

Teachers 478,02  7 

These  are  of  course  merely  a  few  among  the  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  kinds  of  work  in  which  women  are  found. 
Any  survey  of  women's  work  comes  close  to  a  general 
survey  of  industry.  We  shall  find  that  in  some  occupa- 
tions the  proportion  of  men  is  much  larger  than  that  of 
women.  In  others  women  have  made  rapid  strides. 
The  accompanying  diagram  shows  that  in  professional 
service,  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  and  in  clerical 
occupations  women  are  found  in  largest  numbers.  In 
domestic  and  personal  service  the  women  outnumber 
the  men  more  than  two  to  one.  In  professional  service 
there  are  four  women  to  five  men,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  women  being  teachers.  In  the  clerical  occupations 
we  have  one  woman  to  each  two  men,  in  manufacturing 
one  woman  to  six  men,  in  agriculture  one  woman  to  seven 
men,  and  in  trade  one  to  eight.  The  occupations  for 
women  have  been  changed  somewhat  by  the  new  indus- 
trial conditions  forced  upon  us  by  the  war,  but  it  is  very 
probable  that  in  a  few  years  the  industrial  world  will 
return  to  its  normal  status  before  the  war  for  both 
men  and  women. 


The  Girl's  Work 


155 


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156 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


If  it  is  true  that  women  are  claiming  and  will  con- 
tinue to  claim  "all  labor"  for  their  province,  the  claim 
must  rest  upon  one  of  two  assumptions:  Either  women 
are  physically,  mentally,  and  morally  identical  in  their 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

Farmerettes.     During  the  World  War  women  at  home  and  abroad 
rendered  especially  valuable  services  in  agricultural  work 


The  Girl's  Work  157 

capabilities  with  men,  or  differences  in  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  make-up  must  be  considered  as  not  affecting 
work.  Most  of  us  are  not  yet  ready  to  agree  to  either 
of  these  premises.  We  must  therefore  believe  that  some 
occupations  are  more  suitable  for  one  sex  than  for  the 
other.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  only  a  small  group  of 
radical  thinkers  have  made  the  opposite  claim.  Women 
are  found,  it  is  true,  in  a  large  number  of  the  occupations 
in  which  men  are  found.  But  they  are  there  for  some 
other  reason  than  that  they  claim  all  labor  as  their  sphere. 
Some  are  driven  by  the  stern  necessity  of  doing  whatever 
work  is  at  hand ;  some  by  ignorance  of  their  unfitness,  or 
of  the  unfitness  of  the  work  for  them ;  some  by  the  spirit 
of  the  age  which  says,  "Come,  be  free.  Try  these  things 
that  men  do.  See  if  they  suit  you.  Find  your  sphere." 

Probably,  however,  this  last  reason  for  entering  unsuit- 
able occupations  is  the  one  least  often  underlying  the 
choice.  Girls  select  vocations  in  the  main  as  boys  do. 
Until  very  lately  chance  has  been  the  ruling  element  far 
oftener  than  anything  else. 

Studies  in  industry  are  now  for  the  first  time  giving 
us  adequate  information  as  to  requirements  for  efficiency, 
working  conditions,  wages,  living  possibilities,  and  the 
effects,  moral  and  physical,  of  various  occupations  upon 
both  men  and  women.  The  problems  arising  out  of  the 
crossing  and  recrossing  of  these  various  elements  are  as 
yet  but  vaguely  understood.  The  great  gain  lies  in  the 
fact  that  their  solution  is  being  sought. 

The  community  is  of  necessity  interested  in  working- 
women  as  it  is  in  workingmen.  Without  these  workers 
the  community  does  not  exist.  When  they  are  ill-paid, 
overworked,  underfed,  discontented,  or  inefficient,  the 
community  necessarily  suffers.  When  they  work  under 
proper  conditions,  the  community  shares  their  prosperity. 


158 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


It  is  thus  coming  to  be  seen  that  the  condition  of  workers 
is  the  concern  of  all  the  members  of  the  community. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Factory  -workers.     Sewers  and  sewing-machine  operators  to  the 

number  of  over  230,000,  according  to  the  ipip  Census, 

are  employed  in  the  United  States 

In  the  case  of  the  woman  worker,  however,  and  especially 
of  the  young  woman  worker,  the  community  has  a  further 
interest  because  of  the  service  that  women  render  as  the 
mothers  of  the  next  and  indeed  of  all  future  generations. 
If,  then,  it  is  shown  that  women  are  physically  unfit  for 
certain  occupations  that  men  may  follow  with  safety,  it 
becomes  the  business  of  the  community  to  protect  women, 
even  against  themselves  if  necessary,  and  to  deter  them 
from  entering  such  lines  of  work. 

The  community  must  make  use  of  various  agencies  in 
bringing  about  the  proper  relations  between  women  and 
their  work.  It  may  use  legislation,  thereby  securing,  for 
example,  factory  inspectors  to  improve  the  sanitary  and 


The  Girl's  Work 


159 


moral  conditions  in  the  places  where  women  and  girls 
are  employed.  It  may  use  the  school,  the  library,  and 
various  civic  improvement  forces  to  inform  both  girls 
and  their  parents  as  to  conditions  under  which  girls 
should  work.  It  may,  employ  vocational  guides  to  make 
proper  connections  between  women  and  their  work. 

For  all  these  agencies  to  do  satisfactory  work,  the  first 
requisite  is  knowledge  of  conditions.  This  means  skillful 
work  upon  a  vast  and  rapidly  increasing  body  of  facts,  and 
wide  dissemination  of  the  results  of  such  work. 

We  may  not  stop  here  to  consider  what  legislatures 
have  done  and  are  doing  to  improve  conditions,  other 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

Unemployed  utilizing  their  spare  time  to   make  themselves  more 
efficient.     The  community  may  make  use  of  the  schools  for 
such  purposes 

than  to  mention  that  the  number  of  hours  that  women 
may  work  is  restricted  in  some  states,  as  is  night  work, 
and  that  a  minimum  wage  is  required  in  some. 

Our  question,  however,  is  not  so  much  what  is  forbidden 
women  in  the  way  of  work,  as  what  women  and  girls  will 


160  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

choose  to  do  of  the  work  which  is  not  forbidden.  Facts 
as  to  what  women  are  doing  concern  us  mainly  as  material 
from  which  to  deduce  information  of  value  to  the  girls 
who  have  not  yet  chosen. 

A  serious  obstacle  to  wise  choice  on  the  part  of  young 
girls  who  are  pushing  into  industrial  occupations  is  the 
uncertainty  of  their  continuing  as  workers  outside  the 
home.  The  average  length  of  the  girl's  industrial  life 
is  computed  to  be  only  about  five  years.  She  enters 
upon  work  at  an  age  when  it  is  often  impossible  to  tell 
whether  she  will  marry  or  remain  single.  She  is  usually 
unable  to  know  whether  or  not  she  will  desire  to  marry. 
The  great  majority  of  girls  have  therefore  no  stable  con- 
ditions upon  which  to  build  a  choice.  The  work  girls 
choose  and  their  instability  in  the  work  they  enter  upon 
are  direct  results  of  these  unstable  conditions.  Many 
girls  feel  the  need  of  little  or  no  training,  and  apply  for 
any  work  obtainable,  merely  because  they  anticipate 
that  their  industrial  career  will  soon  be  over. 

A  government  report  on  the  condition  of  woman  and 
girl  wage-earners  in  the  United  States  gives  the  following 
facts  concerning  1,391  women  working  in  stores: 

Average  length  of  service 5.17  years 

Average  wage : 

First  year $4 . 69  per  week 

Second  year 5 .  28    "       " 

Tenth  year 9.81    "       " 

Among  3,421   factory  women  investigated: 

Average  length  of  service 4.46  years 

Average  wage: 

First  year $4 . 62  per  week 

Second  year 5 . 34    "       " 

Tenth  year 8.48    "       " 


The  Girl's  Work 


161 


These  stores  and  factories  were  presumably  filled  by 
girls  who  seized  the  most  available  source  of  a  weekly 
wage  regardless  of  all  but  the  pay  envelope.  Few  of 
them  remained  more  than  five  years,  and  those  who  did 
remain  did  not  receive  adequate  increase  in  their  pay 
by  the  tenth  year  for  workers  of  ten  years'  experience. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A   cotton-mill  worker.      Unfortunately  in   the  factories  girls  are 

too  often  influenced  by  the  pay  envelope  rather  than  by  any 

special  fitness  for  the  work  they  are  to  do 

The  whole  industrial  situation  as  it  concerns  women 
would  indicate  that  women  even  more  than  men  show 
lack  of  discrimination  in  seeking  to  place  themselves, 
and  that  the  sources  of  information  for  them  have  been 
few  if  not  entirely  lacking.  Happily  these  conditions  are 
changing.  We  have  now  to  teach  girls  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  information  and  the  guidance  at  hand  and  to  learn 
to  discriminate  in  their  choice  of  work. 

Girls  must  realize  that  unskillful,  mechanical  work,  done 
always  with  a  mental  reservation  that  it  is  merely  a 
temporary  expedient,  keeps  women's  wages  low,  destroys 


1 62  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

confidence  in  female  capacity,  and  has  definite  bearing 
not  only  on  the  individual  woman's  earning  capacity, 
but  on  her  character  as  well.  Girls  must  learn  to  choose 
in  such  a  way  that  their  work  may  be  an  opening  into  a 
life  career  or  may  be  an  enlightening  prelude  to  marriage 
and  the  making  of  a  home. 

Some  of  the  women  who  uphold  the  doctrine  of  equality 
between  the  sexes  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  and  of 
teaching  that  there  can  be  no  equality  without  identical 
work.  They  take  the  attitude  that  unless  women  do  all 
the  sorts  of  work  that  men  do,  they  are  unjustly  deprived 
of  their  rights.  Our  contention  is  rather  that  women 
have  higher  rights  than  that  of  identical  work  with  men. 
They,  above  all  other  workers,  should  have  the  right 
of  intelligent  choice  of  work  which  they  can  do  to  the 
advantage  of  themselves,  their  offspring,  and  the  com- 
munity. Such  a  choice  will  ignore  the  question  of  sex 
as  a  drawback,  accepting  it,  on  the  other  hand,  merely 
as  a  condition  which,  like  other  conditions,  complicates 
but  does  not  necessarily  hamper  choice.  No  girl  need 
feel  hampered  by  her  sex  because  she  chooses  not  to  do 
work  which  fails  either  to  utilize  her  peculiar  gifts  or  to 
lead  in  what  seems  to  her  a  profitable  direction.  No 
girl  should  feel  that  her  industrial  experience,  however 
short,  has  nothing  to  contribute  to  the  home  life  of  which 
she  dreams.  No  girl  need  waste  the  knowledge  and  skill 
gained  in  industrial  life  when  she  abandons  gainful 
occupation  for  the  home.  Homemaking  education,  with 
industrial  experience,  ought  to  make  the  ideal  preparation 
for  life  work. 

This,  however,  can  be  true  only  when  the  girl's  indus- 
trial experience  is  of  the  right  sort.  Girls  must  therefore 
be  led  to  choose  the  developing  occupation.  It  is  a  part 
of  the  world's  economy  to  lead  them  to  this  choice. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  GIRL'S  WORK  (Continued] — CLASSIFICATION 
OF  OCCUPATIONS 

IT  is  well  at  the  outset  to  recognize  that  vocation 
choosing  is  at  best  a  complicated  matter  which,  to 
be  successfully  carried  out,  demands  not  only  much 
information,  but  information  from  different  viewpoints. 
It  is  not  enough  to  insure  a  living,  even  a  good  living,  in 
the  work  a  girl  chooses.  We  must  take  into  consideration 
the  girl's  effect  upon  society  as  a  teacher,  nurse,  sales- 
woman, or  office  worker;  and  no  less,  in  view  of  her 
evident  destiny  as  mother  of  the  race,  must  we  consider 
society's  effect  upon  her,  as  it  finds  her  in  the  place  she 
has  chosen.  In  other  words,  will  she  serve  society  to  the 
best  of  her  ability,  and  will  her  service  fit  her  to  be  a 
^better  homemaker  than  she  would  have  been  had  no 
vocation  outside  the  home  intervened  between  her 
school  training  and  her  final  settling  in  a  home  of  her 
own  making? 

This  double  question  must  find  answer  in  consideration 
of  vocations  from  each  of  several  viewpoints.  We  may 
classify  occupations  open  to  girls  (i)  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  girl's  fitness,  physical  and  psychological;  (2)  from 
the  standpoint  of  industrial  conditions,  the  sanitary, 
mental,  and  moral  atmosphere,  and  the  rewards  obtain- 
able; (3)  as  factors  increasing,  decreasing,  or  not  affect- 
ing the  girl's  possible  home  efficiency  or  the  likelihood 
of  taking  up  home  life;  (4)  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
girl's  education;  (5)  from  the  standpoint  of  service  to 
society. 

163 


1 64  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Our  first  classification  concerns  the  girl's  fitness  for  this 
or  that  work.  The  everyday  work  of  the  world  in  which 
our  girls  are  to  find  a  part  may  be  separated  into  three 
fairly  well-marked  classes:  making  things,  distributing 
things,  and  sendee.  The  first  question  we  must  ask 
concerning  a  girl  desirous  of  finding  work  is,  then:  Toward 
which  of  these  classes  does  her  natural  ability  and  therefore 
probably  her  inclination  tend?  Natural  handworkers 
make  poor  saleswomen;  natural  traders  or  saleswomen 
are  likely  to  be  uninterested  and  ineffective  handworkers. 
The  girl  whose  interests  are  all  centered  in  people  must 
not  be  condemned  to  spend  her  life  in  the  production  of 
things;  nor,  as  is  far  more  common,  must  the  girl  who 
can  make  things,  and  enjoys  making  them,  spend  her 
life  in  merely  handling  the  things  other  people  have  made, 
as  she  strives  to  make  connection  between  these  things 
and  the  people  who  want  them.  Then  there  is  the  girl 
who  is  efficient  and  who  finds  her  pleasure  in  "doing 
things  for  people."  Service — and  we  must  remember 
that  service  is  a  wide  term,  and  that  no  stigma  should 
attach  to  the  class  of  workers  which  includes  the  teacher, 
the  physician,  and  the  minister — is  clearly  the  direc- 
tion in  which  such  a  girl's  vocational  ambition  should  be 
turned. 

It  would  be  idle  to  assert  that  all  women  are  suited  to 
marriage,  motherhood,  and  domestic  life,  although  there 
is  little  doubt  that  early  training  may  develop  in  some  a 
suitability  which  would  otherwise  remain  unsuspected. 
When,  however,  early  training  fails  to  bring  out  any 
inclination  toward  these  things,  we  may  well  consider 
seriously  before  we  exert  the  weight  of  our  influence 
toward  them.  Home-mindedness  shows  itself  in  many 
ways,  and  it  should  have  been  a  matter  of  observation 
years  before  the  girl  faces  the  choice  of  a  vocation.  It  is 


Classification  of  Occupations  165 

usually  of  little  avail  to  attempt  to  turn  the  attention  of 
the  girl  who  is  definitely  not  thus  minded  toward  the 
domestic  life.  On  the  other  hand,  the  girl  who  is  naturally 
so  minded  will  respond  readily  to  suggestions  leading 
toward  the  occupations  which  require  and  appeal  to  her 
domestic  nature.  The  great  majority  of  girls,  however, 
are  not  definitely  concious  of  either  home-mindedness  or 
the  opposite.  They  are  in  fact  not  yet  definitely  cogni- 
zant of  any  natural  bent.  It  is  these  girls  who  are  espe- 
cially open  to  the  influence  of  environment,  of  what  may 
prove  temporary  inclination,  or  of  false  notions  of  the 
advantage  of  certain  occupations  in  choosing  a  life  work. 
These  are  the  girls,  too,  who  are  likely  to  drift  into 
marriage  as  they  are  likely  to  drift  into  any  other  occupa- 
tion, and  whose  previous  vocation  may  have  added  to  or 
perfected  their  homemaking  training  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  may  have  developed  in  them  habits  and  traits 
which  will  effectually  kill  their  usefulness  in  the  home  life. 
These,  then,  are  the  girls  who  are  most  of  all  in  need  of 
wise  assistance  in  choosing  that  which  may  prove  to  be 
a  temporary  vocation  or  may  become  a  life  work.  The 
temporary  idea  must  be  combated  vigorously  in  the  girl's 
mind.  Many  an  unwise  choice  would  have  been  avoided 
had  the  girl  really  faced  the  possibility  of  making  the  work 
she  undertook  a  life  work.  The  temporary  idea  makes 
inefficient  workers  and  discontented  women. 

There  is  in  most  cases,  especially  among  the  fairly  well- 
to-do,  no  dearth  of  assistance  offered  to  the  young  girl 
in  making  her  choice.  Much  of  the  advice,  unfortunately, 
is  not  based  on  real  knowledge  either  of  vocations  or  of 
the  girl.  Knowledge  is  absolutely  necessary  to  successful 
judgment  in  this  delicate  matter. 

From  a  large  number  of  letters  written  by  high-school 
girls  let  me  quote  the  .following  typical  answers  to  the 


1 66  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

question:    Why  have  you  chosen  the  vocation  for  which 
you  are  preparing? 

"Ever  since  I  could  walk  my  uncle  has  been  making  plans  for 
me  in  music." 

"My  first  ambition  was  to  be  a  stenographer,  but  my  father 
objected.  My  father's  choice  was  for  me  to  be  a  teacher,  and 
before  long  it  was  mine  too." 

"My  ambition  until  my  Junior  year  in  High  School  was  to 
be  a  teacher.  From  that  time  until  now  my  ambition  is  to 
be  a  good  stenographer.  My  reason  for  changing  is  due  partly 
to  my  friends  and  parents.  My  parents  do  not  want  me  to 
be  a  teacher,  as  they  consider  it  too  hard  a  Itfe." 

"I  have  been  greatly  influenced  by  my  teacher,  who  thinks 
I  have  a  chance  [as  a  dramatic  art  teacher].  I  am  willing  to 
take  her  word  for  it." 

"  Mother  says  it  is  a  very  ladylike  occupation"  [stenography]. 

"My  music  instructor  wishes  for  me  to  become  a  concert 
player,  or  at  least  a  good  music  teacher,  and  I  now  think  I  wish 
the  same." 

These  answers  all  show  the  customary  ease  of  throwing 
out  advice,  and  also  the  undue  significance  attached  by 
girls  to  these  probably  inexpert  opinions. 

Parents  often  fail  in  their  attempts  to  launch  their 
children  successfully.  Sometimes  they  attempt  unwisely 
to  thrust  a  child  into  an  occupation  merely  because  "it  is 
ladylike,"  or  the  "vacation  is  long,"  or  "the  pay  is  good," 
regardless  of  the  child's  aptitude  or  limitations.  Quite 
often  they  await  inspiration  in  the  form  of  some  revelation 
of  the  child's  desires,  regardless  of  the  demand  of  society 
for  such  service  as  the  child  may  elect  to  supply  or  the 
effect  of  the  vocation  upon  the  child's  health  or  character. 
Undue  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  parents  has  without  ques- 
tion swelled  the  ranks  of  mediocre  physicians  and  lawyers 
and  clergymen.  It  has  doubtless  .produced  thousands  of 


Classification  oj  Occupations  167 

teachers  who  cannot  teach,  nurses  who  are  quite  unsuited 
to  the  sick-room,  and  office  workers  who  have  not  the 
rudiments  of  business  ability. 

It  would  seem  that  truly  successful  guidance  in  a  girl's 
search  for  a  vocation  can  come,  like  much  of  her  training, 
only  from  wise  cooperation  of  school  and  home.  Teacher 
and  parent  see  the  girl  from  different  angles.  Their  com- 
bined judgment  will  consequently  have  double  value. 

As  the  time  of  vocational  choice  approaches,  school 
records  should  cover  larger  ground  than  before,  and 
should  be  made  with  great  care,  with  constant  appeal  to 
parents  for  confirmation  and  additional  facts. 

The  record  should  cover : 

1.  Physical  characteristics:  Height;  weight;  lung  capa- 
city; sight;  hearing;  condition  of  nasal  passages;  condi- 
tion   of    teeth;   bodily    strength    and  endurance;   nerve 
strength  or  weakness. 

2.  Health  history:  Time  lost  from  school  by  illness; 
school  work  as  affected  by  physical  condition  when  the 
girl  is  in  school;  probable  ability  or  inability   to  bear  the 
confinement  of  an  indoor   occupation;  any  early  illness, 
accident,  or  surgical  operation  which  may  affect  health 
and  therefore  vocational  possibilities. 

3.  Mental  characteristics:    The  quality  of  school  work; 
studious  or  active  in  temperament;  best  suited  for  head 
work,    handwork,    or   a    combination;    ability   to   work 
independently  of  teacher  or  other  guide;  studies  most 
enjoyed;  studies  in  which  best  work  is  done;  evidences, 
if  any,  of  special  talent,  and  whether  or  not  sufficient  to 
form  basis  of  life  work. 

4.  Moral  characteristics:  Honesty;  moral  courage;  sta- 
bility ;  tact ;  combativeness ;  leader  or  follower. 

5.  Heredity:  Physical  statistics  in  regard  to  parents, 
brothers,  sisters,  grandparents,  uncles,  aunts;  occupations 

12 


1 68  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

followed  by  these,  with  success  or  otherwise ;  family  tradi- 
tions as  to  work;  special  abilities  in  family  noted. 

6.  Vocational  ambitions. 

7.  Family  resources  for  special  training. 

Without  some  such  record  as  this  —  and  it  need  scarcely 
be  said  that  the  one  given  here  is  capable  of  wide  adapta- 
tion to  special  needs — teachers,  parents,  or  other  friends 
of  the  girl  are  poorly  equipped  for  giving  advice  as  to  the 
girl's  future.  And  yet  it  is  common  enough  for  such 
advice  to  be  thrown  out  in  the  most  casual  manner,  with 
scarcely  a  thought  of  the  ambitions  awakened  or  of  the 
future  to  which  they  may  lead. 

"You  certainly  ought  to  go  on  the  stage,"  chorus  the 
admiring  friends  of  the  girl  who  excels  in  the  work  of  the 
elocution  class.  And  sometimes  with  no  other  counsel  than 
this,  from  people  who  really  know  nothing  about  the 
matter,  the  girl  struggles  to  enter  the  theatrical  world, 
only  to  find  that  her  talent,  sufficient  to  excite  admiring 
comment  among  her  friends,  has  proved  inadequate  to 
make  her  a  worth-while  actress. 

"Why  don't  you  study  art?"  say  the  friends  of  another 
girl;  or,  "You  like  to  take  care  of  sick  people.  Why  don't 
you  train  for  nursing?"  or,  "You're  so  fond  of  books. 
I  should  think  you  would  be  a  librarian" — quite  regard- 
less of  the  fact  that  the  girl  advised  to  study  art  has 
neither  the  perseverance  nor  the  health  to  study  success- 
fully; that  the  one  advised  to  be  a  nurse  lacks  patience 
and  repose  to  a  considerable  degree;  or  that  the  one 
advised  to  be  a  librarian  is  already  suffering  from  strained 
eyes  and  should  choose  her  vocation  from  the  great  out- 
doors. 

Knowledge  of  the  girl  must,  however,  be  supplemented 
by  a  wide  knowledge  of  vocations  to  be  of  real  value  to 
the  teacher  or  parent  who  is  preparing  to  give  vocational 


Classification  of  Occupations  1 69 

counsel.  Final  choice  may  be  reached  only  after  the  girl 
and  the  vocation  are  brought  into  comparative  scrutiny, 
and  their  mutual  fitness  determined.  In  rare  cases  the 
choice  may  be  made  by  the  swift  process  of  observing  a 
great  talent  which,  in  the  absence  of  serious  objections, 
must  govern  the  life  work.  Oftener  the  process  is  one  of 
elimination,  or  of  building  up  from  a  general  foundation 
of  the  girl's  abilities  and  limitations,  and  her  possibilities 
for  training  sufficient  to  make  her  an  efficient  worker  in 
the  line  chosen. 

A  knowledge  of  vocations  presupposes,  first  of  all,  a 
grasp  of  the  essentials  of  the  work,  and  hence  the  charac- 
teristics required  in  the  worker  to  perform  it.  What  sort 
of  girl  is  needed  to  make  an  efficient  teacher,  nurse,  sales- 
woman, or  office  worker?  How  may  we  recognize  this 
potential  teacher  without  resorting  to  a  clumsy,  time- 
wasting,  trial-and-error  method?  These  are  matters 
with  which  schools  and  vocational  guides  all  over  the 
country  are  occupying  themselves.  Perhaps  we  cannot  do 
better  than  to  examine  somewhat  these  requirements  for 
some  occupations  toward  which  girls  most  often  incline. 

THE    PRODUCING   GROUP 

The  girl  who  is  by  nature  a  maker  of  things  may  be  a 
factory  worker,  a  needlewoman,  a  baker,  a  poultry  farmer, 
a  milliner,  a  photographer,  or  an  artist  with  brush  or  with 
voice,  or  in  dramatic  work.  She  is  still  one  who  makes 
things.  We  see  at  once  how  wide  a  range  of  industry  may 
open  to  her. 

How  shall  we  know  this  type  of  girl?  First  of  all,  by 
her  interest  in  things  rather  than  in  people.  With  the 
exception  of  the  singer  and  the  dramatic  artist,  whose 
production  is  of  an  intangible  sort,  the  girl  who  makes 
things  is  a  handworker  by  choice.  The  extent  to  which 


170 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


her  handwork  is  touched  by  the  imaginative  instinct  of 
course  measures  the  distance  that  she  may  make  her  way 
up  the  ladder  of  productive  work.  The  girl's  school 
record  will  usually  show  her  best  work  with  concrete 
materials.  She  draws  or  sews  well,  has  excellent  results 
in  the  cooking  class,  works  well  in  the  laboratory.  At 
home  she  finds  enjoyment  in  "making  things"  of  one  sort 
or  another.  She  displays  ingenuity,  perhaps,  in  meeting 
constructive  problems.  If  so,  that  must  be  considered  in 
finding  her  place. 

Handwork  for  women  includes  a  wide  range  of  occupa- 
tions.    Let  us  now  examine  some  of  these  kinds  of  work. 


In  the  packing  room  of  a  wholesale  house.     The  untrained  girl 
finds  it  easy  to  obtain  factory  work 

Factory  work.  This  term  covers  many  departments  of 
manufacturing  industries.  In  the  main,  however,  they 
may  be  classed  together,  since  in  practically  all  of  them 
the  worker  contributes  only  one  small  portion  of  the  work 


Classification  of  Occupations  171 

incidental  to  the  making  of  candy,  or  artificial  flowers,  or 
coats,  or  pickles,  or  shoes,  or  corsets,  or  underwear,  or  any 
one  of  a  hundred  different  products,  some  one  or  several 
of  which  may  be  found  in  nearly  every  American  town. 

The  great  advantage  of  factory  work,  as  the  untrained 
girl  sees  it,  is  that  it  is  usually  easy  to  obtain  and  that  it 
promises  some  return  even  from  the  start.  Hence  a  large 
proportion  of  untrained  girls  who  leave  school  as  soon  as 
the  law  allows  enter  the  factories  near  their  homes. 

The  great  disadvantages  of  factory  work,  laying  aside 
for  a  moment  many  minor  disadvantages,  are  that  it 
not  only  requires  no  skill  in  the  beginner,  but  that  it 
produces  little  if  any  skill  even  with  years  of  work  and 
offers  practically  no  advancement  for  a  large  proportion 
of  the  workers.  It  should,  therefore,  be  reserved  for 
girls  of  less  keen  intelligence,  and  other  girls  should  if 
possible  be  guided  toward  other  occupations. 

Teachers  must  make  themselves  thoroughly  familiar 
with  working  conditions  in  local  factories,  since  there 
will  always  be  girls  who,  because  of  their  own  limitaj- 
tions  or  the  limitations  of  their  environment,  will  find 
themselves  obliged  to  take  up  factory  work.  Under  the 
teacher's  guidance  girls  should  make  definite  studies  and 
prepare  detailed  reports  of  local  conditions  with  respect  to 
working  hours,  character  of  work,  wages,  possible  advance- 
ment, dangers  to  health,  moral  conditions,  advantages 
over  other  occupations  open  to  girls  with  no  more  train- 
ing, and  disadvantages.  Girls  should  at  least  go  into 
factory  work  with  their  eyes  open,  that  they  may  pass 
their  days  in  the  best  surroundings  available. 

Dressmaking.  The  possibilities  for  the  girl  entering 
upon  work  connected  with  dressmaking  with  the  ultimate 
object  of  becoming  a  dressmaker  herself  are  far  wider 
than  in  the  case  of  the  machine  worker  in  shop  or  factory. 


172 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


The  immediate  return  for  the  untrained  girl  is  far  less, 
but  the  farsighted  girl  must  learn  to  look  beyond  the 
immediate  present.  Not  all  girls,  however,  will  make 
good  dressmakers.  Not  all,  even  of  the  producing  type 
of  girl,  will  do  so.  Certain  definite  qualities  are  required. 
The  girl  who  would  succeed  as  a  dressmaker  must  possess 
ingenuity,  imagination,  and  the  visualizing  type  of  mind. 
She  must  see  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  must  be 
able  to  find  the  way  to  produce  that  which  she  visualizes. 
She  must  be  a  keen  observer.  She  must  have  confidence 
in  her  own  power  to  create.  She  must  possess  manual 
dexterity,  artistic  ideas,  and,  if  she  aims  at  a  business  of 
her  own,  a  pleasing  personality  and  keen  business  sense. 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 


A  millinery  class. 


Millinery  requires  of  the  girl  a  certain  degree 
of  creative  ability 


Millinery.  Millinery  requires  in  its  workers  the  same 
general  type  of  mind  required  for  dressmaking,  and  in 
addition  a  certain  millinery  faculty  or  creative  ability. 
The  girl  who  can  make  and  trim  hats  usually  discovers 
her  own  talent  fairly  early  in  life. 


Classification  of  Occupations  173 

Arts  and  crafts.  This  somewhat  elastic  term  we  use 
to  include  a  wide  range  of  occupations  which  have  to  do 
with  articles  of  use  or  ornament  which  are  handmade 
and  which  require  skill  in  designing  or  in  carrying  out 
designs.  Embroidery,  lace  making,  rug  and  tapestry 
weaving,  basketry,  china  painting,  wood  and  leather 
work,  handwork  in  metals,  bookbinding,  and  the  design- 
ing and  painting  of  cards  for  various  occasions  are  familiar 
examples  of  this  kind  of  work.  Photography,  map 
making,  designing  of  wall  paper  and  fabrics,  costume 
designing  and  illustrating,  making  of  signs,  placards, 
diagrams,  working  drawings,  advertising  illustrations, 
book  and  magazine  illustrating,  landscape  gardening  and 
architecture,  interior  decorating,  are  other  lines  offering 
work  to  men  and  women  alike. 

The  range  of  work  here  is  no  greater  than  the  range 
of  qualities  which  may  be  happily  and  usefully  employed 
in  arts  and  crafts.  All  branches  of  the  work,  however, 
are  alike  in  demanding  a  certain  degree  of  artistic  sense 
and  deftness  of  manual  touch.  An  accurate,  observant 
eye  is  an  absolute  essential,  and,  for  all  but  the  lowest 
and  most  mechanical  lines  of  work,  imagination,  origi- 
nality, and  an  inventive  habit  of  mind  make  the  founda- 
tion of  success.  In  some  lines  a  fine  sense  of  color  values 
must  underlie  good  work,  in  others  the  ability  to  draw 
easily.  All  work  of  this  sort  requires  the  ability  to  do 
careful,  painstaking,  and  persevering  work.  Given  this 
ability  and  the  artistic  sense  before  mentioned,  the  girl's 
work  may  be  determined  by  some  special  talent,  by 
the  special  training  possible  for  her,  or  by  the  openings 
possible  in  her  chosen  line  of  work  within  comparatively 
easy  access. 

Agriculture.  The  Census  figures  which  report  one- 
fifth  of  all  women  gainfully  employed  as  engaged  in 


174  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

agriculture  and  animal  husbandry  are  somewhat  startling 
until  we  observe  that  southern  negro  women  make  up  a 
very  large  number  of  the  farm  workers  reported.  Even 
aside  from  these,  however,  there  are  many  women  who 
are  finding  work  in  gardening,  poultry  raising,  bee 


Photograph  by  C.  Park  Pressey 

A  youthful  farmer.     The  Census  figures  for  the  year  IQIO  report 

one-fifth  of  all  women  employed  in  gainful  occupations  as 

engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and 

animal  husbandry 

culture,  dairying,  and  the  like.  The  girl  who  is  fitted 
to  take  up  work  of  this  sort  is  usually  the  girl  who  has 
grown  up  on  the  farm  or  at  least  in  the  country  and  who 
has  a  sympathy  with  growing  things.  She  is  essentially 
the  "outdoor  girl."  She  must  be  willing  to  study  the 
science  of  making  things  grow.  She  must  be  able  to 
keep  accounts,  that  she  may  know  what  she  is  doing 
and  what  her  profits  are.  Above  all,  she  must  have  no 
false  pride  about  "dirty  work."  Properly  such  a  girl 
should  have  entered  upon  her  career  even  before  she 
has  finished  her  formal  education,  so  that  "  going  to  work  " 


Classification  of  Occupations  175 

means  merely  enlarging  her  work  to  occupy  her  time 
more  fully  and  to  bring  in  as  soon  as  possible  a  living 
income. 

In  this  sort  of  work  the  girl  possessing  initiative  and 
an  independent  spirit  will  naturally  do  best,  since  there 
are  comparatively  few  opportunities  for  such  work  under 
supervision.  Care  must,  however,  be  exercised  by  voca- 
tional guides  in  suggesting,  and  by  girls  in  choosing,  the 
independent  career.  Usually  it  is  the  girl  who  has  shown 
promise  in  independent  work  at  school  or  at  home 
that  will  make  a  success  of  such  work  later  in  life.  The 
girl  who  relaxes  when  the  pressure  of  compulsion  is 
removed  will  not  be  a  success  as  "her  own  boss."  It 
goes  without  saying  that  the  girl  who  does  well  as  her 
own  superior  officer  will  be  happier  to  do  work  upon  her 
own  initiative  than  merely  to  carry  out  the  plans  made 
by  others.  Agricultural  work  will  sometimes  offer  her 
exactly  the  conditions  she  desires.  Many  successful 
farm-owners  are  women,  and  their  work  compares  favor- 
ably with  that  of  men. 

Food  production.  It  is  common,  in  these  days,  to  meet 
the  assertion  that  the  preparation  of  food,  once  woman's 
undisputed  work,  has  been  almost  if  not  quite  removed 
from  her  hands;  and  that,  even  where  she  may  still 
contribute  to  this  work,  she  must  do  so  in  the  factory, 
the  bakery,  the  packing  house,  or  the  delicatessen  shop. 
There  are,  nevertheless,  still  many  women  who  are  fitted 
for  cooking  and  kindred  pursuits  who  will  not  find  an 
outlet  for  their  abilities  in  any  of  the  places  mentioned. 
In  the  main,  factory  production  of  food  is  like  factory 
production  of  other  things  —  a  highly  differentiated  pro- 
cess, in  which  the  individual  worker  finds  little  satisfaction 
for  her  desire  to  "make  things"  and  little,  if  any,  oppor- 
tunity to  contribute  from  her  ability  to  the  final  result. 


176  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

In  the  canning  factory  she  may  sit  all  day  before  an 
ever-moving  procession  of  beans  or  peas,  from  which  she 


An  up-to-date  factory.     In  the  factory  the  -work  is  necessarily 

routine,  and  the  individual  worker  finds  very  little 

satisfaction  for  her  desire  to  make  things 

removes  any  unsuitable  for  cooking.  Or  it  may  be  an 
endless  procession  of  cans,  upon  which  she  rapidly  lays 
covers  as  they  pass.  In  the  pickle  factory  she  may  pack 
tiny  cucumbers  into  bottles.  In  the  packing  house  she 
may  perform  the  task  of  painting  cans.  None  of  these 
occupations  is  more  than  mere  unskilled  labor.  None  is 
suitable  for  the  girl  who  likes  to  cook,  and  who  can  cook. 
The  number  of  such  girls  is  already  fairly  large  and  will 
undoubtedly  increase  as  the  domestic  science  classes  of 
our  schools  do  more  and  better  work. 

Opposed  to  the  theoretical  statement  that  food  is  or  at 
least  to-morrow  will  be  prepared  entirely  in  the  public- 
utility  plants  outside  the  home  is  the  practical  fact  that 


Classification  of  Occupations 


177 


home-cooked  food,  home-preserved  fruits  and  jellies,  and 
home-canned  vegetables  and  meats  find  ready  sale  and 
that  women  who  can  produce  these  things  do  find  it 
profitable  to  do  so.  There  is,  consequently,  a  field  for 
some  girls  in  such  work. 

Not  all  girls,  on  the  other  hand,  who  have  taken  the 
domestic  science  course  are  fitted  to  take  up  this  work, 
even  if  a  market  could  be  found  for  their  work.  Only 
the  expert,  that  is,  the  precise,  accurate,  painstaking  cook, 
can  secure  uniform  results  day  after  day.  Only  the  rapid 
worker  can  do  enough  to  insure  pay  for  her  time.  Only 
the  girl  with  a  keen  sense  of  taste  can  properly  judge 


Cooking  class  at  Benson  Polytechnic  School  for  Girls,  Portland, 

Oregon.     In  spite  of  the  statement  that  foods  will  be  prepared 

in  the  public  utility  plants,  the  trained,  accurate  -worker 

may  find  a  ready  sale  for  home-cooked  foods 

results  and  devise  successful  combinations.  Only  a  busi- 
ness woman  can  buy  to  advantage  and  compute  ratios  of 
expense  and  return.  This  combination,  of  course,  is  not 
to  be  found  every  day. 


178  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

THE    DISTRIBUTING   GROUP 

Salesmanship.  Passing  from  the  class  of  work  which 
has  to  do  with  making  things  to  that  group  of  occupa- 
tions which  has  to  do  with  the  distribution  of  various 
products  to  the  consumer,  we  shall  naturally  consider, 
first  of  all,  the  saleswoman.  In  any  given  group  of  young 
and  untrained  girls  drawn  as  in  our  schools  from  varying 
environment  and  heredity,  the  natural  saleswomen  will 
probably  be  in  the  minority.  I  do  not  mean  that  girls 
may  not  often  express  a  desire  to  "work  in  a  store"  as 
apparently  the  easiest  and  most  immediate  employment 
for  the  untrained  girl.  This  may  or  may  not  indicate  that 
the  girl  has  a  commercial  mind.  The  girl  who  is  really 
interested  in  commercial  undertakings  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  her  fellow  workers  in  any  salesroom.  She 
is  not  the  girl  who  lingers  in  conversation  with  the  girl 
next  to  her  while  a  customer  waits,  or  who  gazes  indiffer- 
ently over  the  customer's  head  while  the  latter  makes  her 
choice  from  the  goods  laid  before  her.  To  the  real  sales- 
woman every  customer  is  a  possibility,  every  sale  a  victory, 
and  every  failure  to  sell  distinctly  a  defeat.  The  fact 
that  we  see  so  few  girls  and  women  of  this  type  behind  the 
counters  in  our  shopping  centers  is  sufficient  indication 
that  many  girls  would  have  been  better  placed  in  other 
occupations. 

We  find,  however,  in  1910,  the  number  of  saleswomen 
reported  as  257,720,  together  with  111,594  "clerks"  in 
stores,  many  of  whom  the  report  states  are  "evidently 
saleswomen"  under  another  name.  There  are  also  about 
4,000  female  proprietors,  officials,  managers,  and  floor- 
walkers in  stores,  and  2,000  commercial  travelers.  This 
gives  us  a  large  number  of  women  who  are  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  goods.  For  the  girl  of  the  commercial  mind,  sales- 
manship in  some  form  presents  certain  possibilities, 


Classification  of  Occupations 


179 


although  there  is  far  less  chance  for  her  to  rise  in  this 
work  than  for  a  boy.  She  must  begin  at  the  most  rudi- 
mentary work,  as  cash  or  errand  girl,  and  her  progess  will 
necessarily  be  slow.  She  will  require  an  ability  to  handle 
with  some  skill  elementary  forms  of  arithmetic,  an  alert 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Hardware  section  of  a  department  store.     Salesmanship  offers 
large  opportunities  to  the  real  saleswoman,  who  considers 
every  customer  a  possibility 

and  observing  mind,  an  interest  in  and  some  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  and  good  health  to  endure  the  confine- 
ment of  the  long  day.  She  will  be  fortunate  if  she  finds 
a  place  in  one  of  the  stores  in  which  a  continuation  school 
is  conducted.  At  such  a  school  in  Altman's  department 
store  in  New  York  the  girls  pursue  a  regular  course 
designed  to  be  especially  helpful  in  their  work,  and  are 
graduated  with  all  due  formality,  in  which  both  public- 
school  and  store  officials  take  part.  Such  a  school  helps 
girls  to  feel  a  pride  in  their  work  and  to  feel  that  they  are 
under  observation  by  those  who  will  recognize  and  reward 


180  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

real  endeavor.  Filene's  in  Boston  and  Wanamaker's  in 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  are  other  notable  examples 
of  such  schools. 

In  a  government  report  previously  quoted  we  find 
interesting  figures  as  to  the  possibility  of  advancement 
for  the  saleswoman.  In  a  study  of  twenty-six  of  the 
largest  department  stores  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
Philadelphia,  employing  more  than  35,000  women,  the 
workers  were  classed  as  follows: 

Per  Cent 

Cash  girls,  messengers,  bundle  girls,  etc 13.2 

Saleswomen 46 . 2 

Buyers  and  assistant  buyers 1.2 

Office  and  other  employees 39-4 

"It  will  be  seen,"  adds  the  report,  "that  the  opportunity 
for  reaching  the  coveted  position  of  buyer  or  assistant 
buyer  is  small." 

The  disadvantages  and  dangers  of  salesmanship  for 
girls,  other  than  small  pay  and  improbability  of  much 
advancement,  we  shall  consider  in  a  later  chapter.  We 
may  say  here,  however,  that  these  disadvantages  and 
dangers,  for  the  really  commercially  minded  girl,  are  to  a 
certain  extent  neutralized  by  her  nature  and  possibilities. 
She  is  the  girl  whose  mind  is  more  or  less  concentrated  on 
"the  selling  game."  Her  nerves  are  less  worn  because  of 
a  certain  exhilaration  in  her  work.  She  is  the  girl  who 
passes  beyond  the  underpaid  stage  and  is  able  to  live 
decently  and  to  rise  to  a  position  of  some  responsibility, 
partly  because  of  her  concentration  and  partly  because  she 
has  been  able  to  resist  the  influences  about  her  which 
make  for  mediocrity  or  worse. 

Office  work.  The  girl  emerging  from  high  school  and 
looking  for  work  is  usually  on  the  lookout  for  what  in  a 
boy  we  call  a  "white-collar  job."  Especially  in  the  case 


Classification  of  Occupations  181 

where  the  girl  has  been  kept  in  school  at  more  or  less 
sacrifice  on  the  part  of  her  parents,  both  they  and  the  girl 
feel  that  the  extra  years  of  schooling  entitle  her  to  a 
"high-class"  occupation  of  some  kind.  Girls  are  far  less 
willing  than  boys  to  "begin  at  the  bottom"  and  work  up 


Office  girls  at  work.     The  successful  office  worker  must  be  neat  and 
accurate  and  have  a  temperament  in  which  pleasure  in  arrange- 
ment lakes  precedence  over  joy  in  production 

through  the  various  stages  of  apprenticeship  to  ultimate 
positions  near  the  top.  They  resent  being  asked  to  take 
the  "overall"  job  and  fear  mightily  to  soil  their  hands. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  a  large  proportion  of  high-school 
graduates  went  at  once  into  the  teaching  force,  where 
they  succeeded  (or  not)  in  "learning  to  do  by  doing," 
without  professional  training  of  any  sort.  Now,  however, 
teaching  as  a  profession  is  in  many  places  fortunately 
reserved  for  the  girls  who  prepare  in  college  or  normal 
school;  and  a  larger  proportion  of  girls  who  cannot  have 
this  professional  training  are  looking  for  other  occupations. 


1 82  T  'ocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Office  work  attracts  a  large  number,  and,  with  present- 
day  business  courses  in  high  schools,  many  girls  find 
employment  as  stenographers,  typists,  cashiers  in  small 
establishments,  bookkeepers,  or  general  office  assistants. 
In  any  of  these  positions  girls  without  special  training  or 
experience  must  begin  at  very  low  wages.  Whether  they 
rise  to  higher  ones  depends  to  some  extent  at  least  upon 
the  girls  themselves. 

What  sort.-of  girl  shall  we  encourage  to  enter  office  work? 
Not  the  girl  whose  talent  lies  in  making  things,  for  to  her 
the  routine  of  the  office  will  be  a  weary  and  endless  tread- 
mill entirely  barren  of  results ;  nor  the  girl  who  requires 
the  stimulus  of  people  to  keep  her  alert  and  keyed  to  her 
best  work;  nor  the  girl  who  cannot  be  happy  at  indoor 
work.  Office  work  seems  to  require  a  temperament  in 
which  pleasure  in  arrangement  takes  precedence  over 
joy  in  production;  in  which  neatness,  accuracy,  and 
precision  afford  satisfaction  even  in  monotonous  tasks. 
Coupled  with  these  a  mathematical  bent  gives  us  the 
cashier  or  accountant  or  bookkeeper;  mental  alertness 
and  manual  dexterity,  the  stenographer;  a  talent  for 
organization,  the  secretary. 

Girls  who  enter  upon  office  work  directly  from  high 
school  must  be  content  with  rudimentary  tasks  and  must 
beware  lest  they  remain  at  a  low  level  in  the  office  force. 
Girls  with  more  training  may  begin  somewhat  farther  up, 
the  best  positions  usually  going  to  those  whose  general 
education  and  equipment  are  greatest.  Stenographers 
are  more  valuable  in  proportion  as  their  knowledge 
of  spelling,  sentence  formation,  and  letter  writing  is 
reinforced  by  a  feeling  for  good  English  and  an  ability 
to  relieve  their  superiors  of  details  in  outlining  corre- 
spondence. It  is  not  enough  that  bookkeepers  know 
one  or  several  systems  of  keeping  business  records,  or 
that  cashiers  manipulate  figures  rapidly  and  well.  More 


Classification  of  Occupations 


183 


important  than  these  fundamental  requirements  is  the 
determination  to  grasp  the  details  of  the  business  as 
conducted  in  the  office  in  which  they  find  themselves  and 
to  adapt  their  work  to  the  needs  of  the  person  whose 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

The  successful  secretary  must  have  a  talent  for  organization 

work  they  do.  General  knowledge  and  the  ability  to 
think  not  only  supplement,  but  easily  become  more 
valuable  than,  technical  training. 

A  careful  study  of  local  conditions  as  they  affect  office 
positions  will  enable  girls  and  their  guides  to  have  a  better 
conception  of  requirements  and  rewards  in  this  field.  A 
valuable  study  of  conditions  among  office  girls  in  Cleve- 
land has  recently  been  published  which  sheds  considerable 
light  on  the  ultimate  industrial  fate  of  the  overyoung  and 
poorly  trained  office  worker.  A  more  general  study  is 
found  in  the  volume  on  Women  in  Office  Service  issued  by 
the  Women's  Educational  Union  of  Boston. 

13 


184  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

THE    SERVICE    GROUP 

The  third,  or  service,  group  of  workingwomen  covers 
without  doubt  the  widest  range  of  all.  Here  we  find  the 
domestic  helper  (or  servant,  as  she  has  usually  been  called) , 
the  telephone  operator,  the  librarian,  the  teacher,  the 
nurse,  the  physician,  the  lawyer,  the  social  worker,  the 
clergyman  or  minister.  All  degrees  of  training  are  repre- 
sented, and  many  varieties  of  work,  from  the  simplest  to 
the  most  complex. 

Strictly  speaking,  service  has  to  do  with  personal 
attendance  and  help,  but  it  is  constantly  overlapping 
other  lines  of  work.  The  household  assistant  is  not  only 
a  helper,  but  at  times  a  producer;  the  telephone  operator 
and  the  librarian  are  distributors  as  well  as  public  helpers ; 
the  secretary  is  an  office  worker,  although  she  is  a  personal 
assistant  to  her  employer  as  well.  For  successful  work  in 
any  of  these  lines,  however,  a  girl  must  possess  certain 
definite  characteristics,  to  which  her  peculiar  talent  or 
tendency  may  give  the  determining  direction  as  she 
chooses  her  work. 

In  service  of  any  sort  the  girl  is  brought  into  constant 
relation  with  people.  Hence  she  must  be  the  sort  of  girl 
to  whom  people  and  not  things  are  the  chief  interest  of 
life.  She  should  have  an  agreeable  personality,  that  she 
may  give  pleasure  with  her  service;  she  needs  tact,  that 
she  may  keep  the  atmosphere  about  her  unruffled;  she 
needs  to  find  pleasure  for  herself  in  service,  seeing  always 
the  end  rather  than  merely  the  often  wearisome  details 
of  work.  Beyond  these  general  qualities  we  must  begin 
at  once  to  make  subdivisions,  since  the  additional  traits 
necessary  to  make  a  girl  successful  in  one  line  of  service 
differ  often  widely  from  those  required  in  any  other  line. 
We  must  therefore  take  up  some  of  the  lines  of  work  in 
more  or  less  detail. 


Classification  of  Occupations  185 

Domestic  work.  The  untrained  girl  who  naturally  falls 
into  the  service  group  has  a  rather  poor  outlook  for  con- 
genial and  successful  work  as  conditions  exist.  With 
ability  which  she  perhaps  does  not  possess,  and  with 
training  which  she  cannot  afford,  she  would  naturally 
become  a  teacher,  a  nurse,  a  private  secretary,  a  librarian, 
or  a  social  worker.  Without  training,  she  finds  little 
except  domestic  service  open  to  her ;  and  domestic  service 
finds  little  favor  with  girls,  or  with  students  of  vocational 
possibilities  for  girls. 

These  are  unfortunate  facts.  For  the  untrained  girl  of 
merely  average  abilities,  with  no  pronounced  talent  or 
inclination,  but  with  an  interest  in  persons  and  a  pleasure 
in  doing  things  for  people,  helping  in  the  tasks  of  home- 
making  ought  to  prove  suitable  work.  It  is,  however, 
the  one  vocation  for  the  untrained  girl  which  requires  her 
to  live  in  the  home  of  her  employer,  thus  curtailing  her 
independence,  rendering  her  hours  of  work  long  and 
uncertain,  and  cutting  off  the  natural  social  environment 
possible  if  she  returned  to  her  own  home  at  the  end  of 
the  day's  work.  The  social  position  of  girls  in  domestic 
service,  especially  in  the  towns  and  cities,  is  peculiarly 
hard  for  a  self-respecting  girl  to  bear.  It  is  in  large  part 
a  reflection  upon  her  sacrifice  of  independence.  The 
derisive  slang  term  "slavey"  expresses  the  generally 
prevalent  public  contempt.  It  is  small  wonder  that  a 
girl  fears  to  brave  such  a  sentiment  and  as  a  result  avoids 
what  is  perhaps  in  itself  congenial  work  in  pleasanter 
surroundings  than  most  noisy,  ill-smelling  factories. 

Almost  all  the  conditions  surrounding  the  domestic 
worker  are  such  that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  say 
except  of  each  place  considered  by  itself  whether  or  not 
it  is  a  suitable  and  desirable  place  for  a  girl,  or  whether 
work  and  wages  are  fair.  Practically  no  progress  has 


1 86  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

been  made  in  standardizing  household  work.  The  factory 
girl  knows  what  she  is  to  do  and  when  she  is  to  do  it  and 
how  long  her  day  is  to  be.  The  housework  girl  seldom 
knows  any  of  these  things  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 
Any  plan  which  will  make  it  possible  to  regulate  these 
matters  according  to  some  recognized  standard,  and  which 
will  enable  domestic  workers  to  live  at  home,  going  to  and 
from  their  work  at  regular  hours  as  shop,  factory,  and 
office  employees  do,  will  help  very  materially  to  solve 
the  problem  of  opening  another  desirable  vocation  to  the 
untrained  girl. 

The  untrained  girl  who  is  willing  to  accept  a  difficult 
and  trying  position  in  a  private  kitchen  with  the  idea  of 
making  her  work  serve  her  as  a  training  school  for  better 
work  in  the  future  may  make  a  success  of  her  life  after 
all.  Such  a  girl  will  have  good  observing  powers  and 
ability  to  follow  directions  and  gauge  the  success  of  results. 
She  will  have  adaptability,  patience,  and  a  very  definite 
ambition.  For  domestic  service  may  be  a  stepping  stone. 

For  the  high-school  girl  a  better  opening  may  some- 
times be  found  as  a  mother's  helper.  Many  women  who 
find  the  ordinary  household  helper  unsatisfactory  give 
employment  to  girls  of  refinement  and  high-school  train- 
ing who  are  capable  of  assisting  either  with  household 
tasks  or  with  the  care  of  children.  Girls  in  such  positions 
are  usually  made  "one  of  the  family,"  and  are  sometimes 
very  happily  situated.  Their  earnings  are  often  more 
than  those  of  other  girls  of  their  intelligence  and  training 
who  are  in  offices  or  stores;  but  there  is  of  course  little 
chance  of  advancement,  and  there  is  still  the  prejudice 
against  domestic  work  to  be  reckoned  with.  Here,  as 
with  household  assistants,  the  greatest  drawback  is  prob- 
ably lack  of  standardization  of  work  and  of  working 
conditions. 


Classification  of  Occupations  187 

The  girl  who  wishes  to  become  a  "mother's  helper" 
must  have  a  natural  refinement  and  some  knowledge  of 
social  usage  if  she  is  to  be  a  sharer  in  the  family  life  of  her 
employer.  She  must  use  excellent  English,  must  know 
how  to  dress  quietly  and  suitably,  and  must  not  only  know 
how  to  keep  herself  in  the  background  of  family  life,  but 
must  be  willing  to  remain  somewhat  in  the  shadows. 

Probably  no  better  field  for  the  investigation  of  these 
trying  questions  could  be  found  than  the  high  school. 
The  ranks  of  employers  of  domestic  help  are  being  con- 
stantly recruited  from  the  girls  who  were  the  high-school 
students  of  yesterday  and  have  now  taken  their  places  as 
housekeepers.  The  high  school  then,  where  the  problem 
may  be  approached  in  an  impersonal  manner  quite 
impossible  later  when  the  question  has  become  a  personal 
one,  is  the  proper  place  in  which  to  study  the  domestic 
service  question  and  to  attempt  its  standardization. 

The  higher  positions  involving  domestic  work  are  more 
in  the  nature  of  supervisory  employment.  Many  women 
are  employed  as  matrons  in  hospitals,  boarding  schools, 
and  other  institutions,  as  housekeepers  in  hotels,  club 
buildings,  or  in  large  private  establishments.  These 
positions  of  course  call  for  women  who  are  not  only 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  work  to  be  done,  but  are 
skilled  in  managing  their  subordinates  who  do  the  actual 
work.  They  require  women  who  have  administrative 
ability,  knowledge  of  keeping  accounts,  proper  standards 
of  living  and  of  service,  and  initiative. 

For  the  woman  who  has  a  desire  to  enter  business  for 
herself  there  are  openings  in  the  line  of  domestic  work. 
From  time  immemorial  women  have  managed  lodging 
and  boarding  houses,  sometimes  with  good  returns.  They 
are  also  the  owners  and  managers  of  tea  rooms,  restau- 
rants, laundries,  dyeing  and  cleaning  establishments, 


i88 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


hairdressing  and  manicure  shops,  and  day  nurseries.  All 
these  occupations  can  be  followed  successfully  only  by  the 
woman  of  business  ability  and  some  technical  knowledge. 
They  require  not  only  knowledge  but  aptitude  on  the  part 
of  the  worker.  They  are  usually  undertaken  only  by 
women  of  some  experience,  and  are  the  result  of  some 
earlier  choice  rather  than  the  choice  of  the  vocation- 
seeking  girl. 

Teaching.  The  teacher  differs  from  the  person  who  has 
merely  an  interest  in  human  kind  in  the  abstract,  because 
she  has  a  special  interest  in  one  particular  class  of  human 
beings — those  who  are  most  distinctly  in  the  process  of 
making.  She  is  interested  in  children,  or  she  should  not 
be  teaching.  This,  however,  is  not  enough.  The  girl 


The  true  teacher  represents  a  high  type  of  social  "worker 

who  wishes  to  teach  must  possess  certain  well-defined 
characteristics.  Her  health  must  be  good,  and  her  nerve 
force  stable.  Temperamentally  she  must  be  enthusiastic 
and  optimistic,  but  capable  of  sustained  effort  even  in  the 
face  of  apparent  failure.  Her  outlook  must  be  broad,  and 


Classification  of  Occupations  189 

her  patience  unfailing.  Intellectually  she  must  be  a 
student,  and  if  she  possess  considerable  initiative  and 
originality  in  her  study,  so  much  the  better.  She  must 
not,  however,  become  a  student  of  mathematics  or  history 
or  languages  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more  absorbing  study 
of  her  pupils,  nor  even  to  so  great  a  degree  as  she  studies 
them.  The  true  teacher  represents  a  high  type  of  social 
worker.  Many  girls  enter  upon  the  work  of  teaching 
badly  handicapped  by  the  lack  of  some  of  these  essential 
qualities  and  are  in  consequence  never  able  to  rise  to  real 
understanding  and  accomplishment  of  their  work. 

Teaching  in  these  days  is  a  broad  vocation,  covering 
many  different  lines  of  work;  probably  no  occupation  for 
girls  is  so  well  known  with  both  its  conditions  and  rewards 
as  this.  In  general,  more  girls  than  are  by  nature  fitted 
for  the  work  stand  ready  to  undertake  it.  There  is 
nevertheless  difficulty  for  school  officials  in  finding  real 
teachers  enough  to  fill  their  positions.  For  the  right  girl, 
teaching  has  much  to  offer. 

Library  work.  The  librarian  in  these  modern  days  is  a 
most  important  public  servant,  and  many  openings  in 
library  work  are  to  be  found.  The  services  to  be  per- 
formed range  from  purely  routine  work  to  a  very  high 
type  of  constructive  service  for  the  community.  In  the 
small  libraries  an  "all-round"  type  of  worker  is  required. 
In  the  larger  ones  specialties  may  be  followed.  In  these 
larger  libraries  there  are  to  be  found  permanent  places  for 
the  routine  workers.  In  smaller  ones  each  worker  should 
be  in  line  for  even  the  highest  type  of  constructive  work. 

The  routine  worker  in  the  library  is  merely  an  office 
worker,  and  the  same  girl  who  would  do  well  at  the 
mechanical  tasks  of  an  office  will  do  well  here.  The  real 
librarian  is  of  a  different  sort.  She  must  have  the  neat- 
ness, precision,  and  accuracy  of  the  office  worker,  to  be 


i  go  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

sure;  but  to  these  she  must  add' a  broad  conception  of  the 
place  of  the  library  in  the  community,  and  must  display 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A    well-equipped  library.     The  successful  librarian  must  be 
scientifically  trained  for  her  work 

initiative  and  originality  in  bringing  it  to  occupy  that 
place.  She  must  know  books;  she  must  know  people. 
She  must  be  in  touch  with  current  history,  and  be  alert 
to  place  library  material  bearing  upon  it  at  the  disposal 
of  the  people.  She  must  have  quick  sympathies,  tact, 
the  teaching  spirit  (carefully  concealed) ,  and  much  admin- 
istrative ability.  And  she  must  be  trained  for  her  work. 

Nursing.  The  nurse  is  in  many  ways  like  the  teacher, 
and  the  girl  who  has  the  right  temperament  for  successful 
teaching  will  usually  make  a  successful  nurse,  tempera- 
mentally considered.  Her  mental  traits,  or  perhaps  more 
exactly  her  habits  of  thought,  may  be  somewhat  different. 
The  teacher  must  be  able  to  attend  to  many  things;  the 


Classification  of  Occupations 


191 


nurse  must  be  able  to  concentrate  on  one.  Originality 
and  initiative  are  less  to  be  desired,  since  the  nurse  is  not 
usually  in  charge  of  her  case  directly,  but  rather  subject 
to  the  doctor's  orders.  She  must,  nevertheless,  be 
resourceful  in  emergencies,  and  of  good  judgment  always. 
She  should  be  calm  as  well  as  patient,  quiet  in  speech  and 
movement,  a  keen  observer,  and  willing  to  accept  responsi- 
bility. Absolute  obedience  and  loyalty  to  her  superiors 
is  expected,  and  a  high  conception  of  the  ethics  of  her 
calling.  Underlying  all  these  qualifications,  the  nurse 
must  have  not  only  good  health  but  physical  strength. 


Copyright  by  Keystone  View  Co. 

During  the  World  War  nursing  offered  to  women  perhaps  the  largest 

opportunities  for  service.     Here  is  shown  Princess  Mary  of 

England  in  the  Great  Ormond  Street  Hospital,  London 

Social  work.  This  term  covers  many  occupations  which 
overlap  the  work  of  the  teacher,  the  nurse,  the  secretary, 
the  house  mother  or  matron,  and  even  that  of  the  physi- 
cian and  lawyer.  The  field  of  work  is  a  large  one, 


IQ2 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


including  settlement  leaders  and  assistants,  workers  in 
social  and  community  centers  and  recreation  centers, 
vacation  playgrounds,  public  and  private  charities,  district 
nurses  and  visiting  nurses  sent  out  by  various  agencies, 
deaconesses  and  other  church  visitors,  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  leaders  and  helpers,  missionaries, 
welfare  workers  in  large  manufacturing  or  mercantile 
establishments,  probation  officers,  and  many  others. 

The  social  worker  must  of  course  have  the  same  suit- 
ability for  teaching  or  nursing  or  any  other  of  the  various 
tasks  that  she  may  undertake  as  has  the  teacher  or  nurse 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Settlement  work  at  Greenwich  House,  New  York.     The  settlement 
worker  to  succeed  must  be  truly  altruistic 

or  other  person  who  works  under  different  auspices.  -  She 
must  have  in  addition  a  truly  altruistic  spirit,  a  deep 
earnestness  which  will  survive  discouragement,  and  a  real 
insight  into  the  circumstances,  handicaps,  and  possibilities 


Classification  of  Occupations  193 

of  others.  This  insight  presupposes  maturity  of  thought ; 
and  the  young  girl  must  serve  a  long  apprenticeship  with 
life  before  she  is  at  her  best  as  a  social  worker.  It  some- 
times seems  as  though  no  field  was  so  exactly  suited  to  the 
abilities  of  the  married  woman  who  has  time  for  service, 
or  the  mother  whose  children  are  grown,  leaving  her  free 
again  to  teach  or  nurse  the  sick  or  bring  justice  to  the 
little  child  as  she  was  trained  to  do  in  her  youth. 

Less  common  vocations  for  women — but  still  often 
chosen  after  all — are  reserved  for  those  whose  abilities 
are  so  specialized  and  so  striking  that  they  compel  a  choice. 
Singers,  artists  with  brush  or  pen,  the  natural  actress,  the 
journalist  or  author,  need  usually  no  one  to  guide  their 
choice.  Our  great  difficulty  here  is  not  to  open  the  girl's 
eyes  to  her  opportunity,  but  to  restrain  the  one  who  has 
not  measured  her  ability  correctly  from  attempting  that 
which  she  cannot  perform.  The  same  is  true  of  girls  who 
aspire  to  be  physicians,  lawyers,  or  ministers.  Some  few 
succeed  in  all  these  vocations.  Many  more  have  not  the 
scientific  habits  of  mind,  the  stability,  or  the  endurance 
to  make  a  successful  fight  for  recognition  against  great 
odds. 

Many  girls  mistake  what  may  be  a  pleasant  and  satis- 
fying avocation  for  a  life  work.  For  the  girl  who  will  not 
be  held  back,  there  may  be  a  life  of  achievement  ahead, 
with  fame  and  all  the  other  accompaniments  of  successful 
public  life;  or  there  may  be  the  disappointments  of 
unrealized  ambition.  We  must  see  that  girls  face  this 
possibility  with  the  other. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GIRL'S  WORK  (Continued) — VOCATIONS  AS 
AFFECTING  HOMEMAKING 

CHOICE  of  vocation  is  far  from  being  a  simple 
matter  for  either  boy  or  girl;  but  for  the  girl  who 
recognizes  homemaking  as  woman's  work,  double  possibil- 
ities complicate  her  problem  more  than  that  of  the  boy. 
The  girl  must  prepare  for  life  work  in  the  home,  or  life  work 
outside  the  home,  or  a  period  of  either  followed  by  the  other,  or 
perhaps  a  combination  of  both  during  some  part  or  even  all  of 
her  mature  life. 

It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  us  to  study  vocations  in 
their  relation  to  homemaking.  Will  the  girl  who  works 
in  the  factory,  for  instance,  or  who  becomes  a  teacher  or  a 
lawyer  or  a  physician,  be  as  good  a  homemaker  as  she 
would  have  been  had  she  chosen  some  other  occupation? 
Will  she  perhaps  be  a  better  homemaker  for  her  vocational 
experience?  Or  will  her  life  in  the  industrial  world  unfit 
her  for  life  in  the  home  or  turn  her  inclination  away  from 
the  homemaker's  work? 

These  questions  have  somehow  fallen  into  the  back- 
ground in  the  steady  increase  of  girls  as  industrial  workers. 
"Good  money"  has  usually  come  first,  and  after  that 
other  considerations  of  social  advantage,  working  con- 
ditions, or  local  demand.  Marriage  and  motherhood  are 
still  recognized  as  normal  conditions  for  most  women,  but 
we  let  their  industrial  life  step  in  between  their  home- 
making  preparation  in  home  and  school,  with  the  result 
that  many  lose  physical  fitness  or  mental  aptitude  or 
inclination  for  the  home  life.  We  treat  marriage  as  an 

194 


Vocations  as  Affecting  Homemaking  195 

incident,  even  though  it  occurs  often  enough  to  be  for 
most  women  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  At 
some  time  in  their  lives,  93.8  per  cent  of  all  women  marry. 

The  first  broad  classification  of  vocations  in  their 
relation  to  homemaking  is:  (i)  those  which  are  favorable 
to  homemaking,  (2)  those  which  are  unfavorable,  (3)  those 
which  are  neutral. 

It  must,  however,  be  recognized  at  the  outset  that  few 
hard-and-fast  lines  between  these  groups  can  be  drawn, 
and  that  "the  personal  equation"  is  as  important  a  factor 
here  as  in  most  personal  questions.  It  is  true,  neverthe- 
less, that  helpful  deductions  may  be  drawn  from  facts 
which  it  is  possible  to  gather  concerning  the  physical, 
mental,  and  moral  results  of  pursuing  certain  occupations 
as  a  prelude  to  marriage  and  the  making  of  a  home. 

In  a  general  way,  economic  independence,  that  is,  the 
earning  of  her  own  living  by  a  girl  for  several  years  before 
marriage,  tends  to  increase  her  knowledge  of  the  value  of 
money  and  to  make  her  a  better  financial  manager. 
Probably  this  same  independence  makes  a  girl  slightly 
less  anxious  to  marry,  especially  since  in  most  cases  she 
has  hitherto  been  expected  to  give  up  her  personal  income 
in  exchange  for  an  extremely  uncertain  system  of  sharing 
what  the  husband  earns.  Independence  of  any  sort  is 
reluctantly  laid  aside  by  those  who  have  possessed  it. 
This  very  reluctance  on  the  part  of  girls  ought  to  be  a 
force  in  the  direction  of  economic  independence  of  wives, 
a  most  desirable  and  necessary  condition  for  society 
to  bring  about.  Gainful  occupation  has  then  much  to 
recommend  it  and  little  to  be  said  against  it  as  part  of 
the  training  for  matrimony. 

Certain  occupations,  however,  are  so  essentially  favor- 
able to  the  girl's  homemaking  ability  and  to  her  probable 
inclination  to  make  a  home  of  her  own  that  we  do  not 


196  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

hesitate  to  recommend  them  as  the  best  directions  for 
girls'  vocational  work  to  take,  other  things  being  equal. 
We  have  already  said  that  the  girl  distinctly  not  home- 
minded  is  more  safely  left  to  her  own  inclinations.  She 
would  not  be  a  success  as  a  homemaker  under  any  circum- 
stances. Other  girls  may  be  made  or  marred  by  the  years 
which  intervene  between  their  school  and  home  life. 

The  value  of  domestic  work  of  any  sort  as  a  preparation 
for  homemaking  is  generally  admitted  without  argument. 
Closely  in  touch  with  a  home  throughout  her  maturing 
years,  the  girl  may  undertake  her  own  housekeeping 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

The  value  of  domestic  work  of  any  sort  as  a  preparation  for 
homemaking  is  generally  admitted  without  argument 

problems  with  ease  and  efficiency.  Conditions  as  they 
often  exist,  however,  especially  for  the  younger  and 
untrained  domestic  worker,  do  not  allow  the  girl  to  obtain 


Vocations  as  Affecting  Homemaking 


197 


other  experience  quite  as  necessary  if  she  is  to  become 
not  merely  a  housekeeper  but  a  true  homemaker.     The 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"•^^^^^^^^^^^^^^""^ 

Demonstration  by  teacher  in  domestic  science.     Teaching  affords 

excellent  preparation  for  the  prospective  homemaker 


untrained  girl  who  enters  upon  domestic  work  at  fourteen 
or  fifteen  should  have  opportunity — indeed  the  opportu- 
nity should  be  thrust  upon  her — of  attending  a  continua- 
tion school,  where  the  special  aim  should  be  to  counteract 
the  narrowing  tendency  of  work  which  revolves  about  so 
small  an  orbit.  Ideals  of  home  life  are  either  lacking  or 
distorted  in  the  minds  of  many  working  girls,  and  when 
such  girls  become  wives  and  mothers  they  strive  for  the 
wrong  things  or  they  fall  back  without  striving  at  all, 
taking  merely  what  comes.  They  fail  to  be  forces  for 
good  in  their  family  life. 

Teaching  and  nursing  may  be  grouped  together  as 
excellent  preparation  for  the  prospective  homemaker. 
It  may  be  contended  that  the  teacher  and  the  hospital 
nurse  spend  years  outside  the  home  environment  and  that 


198  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

their  minds  are  turned  to  other  problems  than  those  of 
housekeeping.  This  contention  is  undoubtedly  true ;  and 
if  we  were  striving  merely  to  make  housekeepers,  it 
might  be  worthy  of  serious  consideration.  The  home, 
however,  as  we  have  defined  it,  is  a  place  in  which  to 


.  TJ  -  ,<  W    jiV  *•»•«>  -^   1 1      «- 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

Women  medical  students.     Physicians  and  surgeons  have  unusual 

opportunities  for  learning  by  observation  and  experiment  about 

the  human  relations  that  will  confront  them  in  their  own  homes 

make  people,  and  both  the  nurse  and  the  teacher  serve 
a  long  apprenticeship  in  this  sort  of  manufacture.  Expert 
workers  in  either  line  concern  themselves  with  the  bodies 
and  the  minds  of  their  pupils  or  patients.  They,  together 
with  physicians,  lawyers,  and  social  workers,  have  oppor- 
tunities which  can  scarcely  be  equaled  for  learning  by 
observation  and  experiment  about  the  human  relations 
that  will  confront  them  in  their  own  homes.  They 
learn  to  be  resourceful  and  to  meet  the  emergencies  of 


Vocations  as  Affecting  Homemaking  199 

which  life  is  full;  they  have  the  advantage  of  trained 
minds  to  set  to  work  upon  the  administrative  problems 
which  underlie  successful  home  life. 

A  question  may  arise  as  to  the  physical  fitness  for 
marriage  and  motherhood  of  the  girl  who  has  given  her 
nerve  force  to  the  exacting  and  often  depleting  work  of 
nurse,  teacher,  or  physician.  It  is  unquestionably  true 
that  nurses  and  teachers  do  often  wear  out  after  com- 
paratively few  years  at  their  vocation,  although  of  the 
majority  the  opposite  is  true.  This  merely  means  that 
conditions  surrounding  these  vocations  should  be  studied 
with  a  view  to  their  improvement,  if  necessary,  since  we 
believe  the  vocations  to  be  suited  to  women  and  women 
to  the  vocations. 

Office  work  may  prove  an  excellent  training  for  certain 
phases  of  homemaking  work.  Neatness,  accuracy,  pre- 
cision, the  doing  again  and  again  of  constantly  recurring 
tasks,  all  find  their  place  and  use  in  the  housekeeper's 
routine.  The  calm  atmosphere  of  the  well-kept  office 
even  when  typewriters  and  calculating  machines  are 
rattling  is  a  better  preparation  for  an  orderly  home  than 
the  rush  of  the  department  store  or  the  factory.  Purely 
routine  workers,  who  put  little  or  no  thought  into  their 
daily  tasks,  will  enter  upon  homemaking  lacking  the 
initiative  that  homemakers  need.  But  the  able  office 
worker  is  not  merely  a  follower  of  routine.  The  greatest 
lack  of  office  work  as  preparation  for  a  homemaking 
career  is  that  the  girl's  interests  during  so  large  a  part 
of  her  day  are  led  away  from  the  home  and  all  that 
pertains  to  it.  She  works  neither  with  people  nor  with 
the  things  which  go  to  make  homes.  Probably,  on  the 
whole,  office  work  in  a  general  way  may  be  classed  as  a 
neutral  occupation,  which  neither  adds  to,  nor  reduces, 
in  any  great  degree  the  girl's  possibilities  as  a  homemaker. 

14 


200  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Salesmanship  for  girls,  especially  in  the  great  depart- 
ment stores  of  the  cities,  is  a  vocation  of  at  least  doubtful 
advantage  for  the  home-minded  girl  to  pursue  as  a  step 
in  her  training  for  managing  her  own  home.  In  the  quiet 
of  the  village  store,  with  few  associates  in  work,  and 
with  one's  neighbors  and  fellow  townsmen  for  custom- 
ers, salesmanship  takes  on  a  somewhat  different  aspect. 
But  the  city  store  means  usually  hurry,  excitement, 
nerve  strain,  a  long  day,  with  quite  probably  reaction  to 
excessive  gayety  and  hence  more  nerve  strain  at  night. 
It  means  spending  one's  days  among  great  collections  of 
finery  which  tend  to  assume  undue  importance  in  the 
girl's  eyes.  It  means  constant  association  with  people 
who  spend,  until  spending  seems  the  only  end  in  life. 
It  means  almost  always  pay  lower  than  is  consistent  with 
decent  living  if  the  girl  must  depend  alone  upon  her  own 
earnings.  And  none  of  these  things  tends  toward  steady, 
skillful,  contented  wifehood  and  motherhood  in  later 
years.  This  question  of  underpaid  work  is  of  course  not 
found  alone  in  the  department  store.  But,  wherever  it 
is  found,  we  may  be  sure  that  it  tends  on  the  one  hand 
toward  marriage  as  a  way  of  escape  from  present  want, 
and  on  the  other  toward  inefficiency  in  the  relation  so 
lightly  assumed. 

The  factory  girl  is  in  many  respects  in  a  position  parallel 
to  that  of  the  saleswoman.  She  earns  too  little  to  make 
comfortable  living  possible.  She  too  must  leave  home 
early  and  return  late,  wearied  by  the  monotony  of  a 
day  in  uninteresting  surroundings,  with  neither  energy 
nor  inclination  for  anything  other  than  complete  relax- 
ation and  "fun."  This  desire  for  relaxation  leads  her 
often  away  from  a  crowded,  ill-supported  home  in  the 
evenings,  until  the  habit  settles  into  a  confirmed  dis- 
position. This  is  a  decided  handicap  for  a  homemaker. 


Vocations  as  Affecting  Homemaking  201 

Coupled  with  the  mental  inertia  resulting  from  years 
of  mechanical  work  without  thought,  it  provides  poor 
material  from  which  to  make  steady,  responsible,  efficient 
women.  We  have  already  noted,  however,  that  factories 
differ  widely.  It  follows  of  necessity  that  the  girls  who 
work  in  them  come  from  their  work  with  all  grades  of 
ability. 

The  actress,  the  artist,  and  the  literary  woman  are 
usually  spoken  of  as  far  removed  from  the  true  domestic 
type.  This  I  cannot  believe  to  be  true,  except  in  indi- 
vidual cases.  All  these  women,  as  makers  of  finished 
products,  stand  far  nearer  to  the  traditional  type  of 
woman  than  many  others  we  might  name.  The  life  of 
the  actress  tends  more  than  the  others  perhaps  to  break 
home  ties,  but  in  the  case  of  real  talent  in  any  direc- 
tion ordinary  rules  do  not  apply.  The  actress,  the 
artist,  and  the  writer  are  much  more  likely  to  carry  on 
their  work  after  marriage  than  the  teacher,  the  office 
worker,  or  even  the  factory  woman.  Many  of  them  suc- 
ceed to  a  remarkable  degree  in  doing  two  things  well. 
Many  more,  of  course,  are  less  successful,  but  we  must 
not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  failures  are  more  noised 
abroad  than  the  successes. 

It  is  a  matter  for  regret  that  most  women,  upon  leav- 
ing an  industrial  career  for  marriage,  drop  so  completely 
out  of  touch  with  their  former  work.  In  the  case  of  the 
untrained  woman,  who  has  received  little  and  given 
little  in  her  work,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  moment;  but 
when  years  have  been  given  to  skilled  labor,  it  is  eco- 
nomic waste  to  have  the  skill  lost  and  the  process  for- 
gotten. Many  times  the  woman  finds  herself  after  a 
short  life  in  the  home  obliged  to  earn  a  living  once  more 
for  herself  or  it  may  be  for  a  family.  She  returns  to 
her  teaching  or  her  office  work  or  a  position  in  the  library ; 


2O2  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

but  she  is  no  longer,  at  least  for  a  considerable  time,  the 
expert  she  once  was.  Why  should  not  the  former  teacher 
keep  up  her  interest  in  educational  literature  and  the 
new  ideas  in  what  might  have  been  her  life  work?  Would 
it  not  be  well  for  the  one-time  stenographer  to  keep  a 
gentle  hold  upon  the  quirks  and  quirls  which  once  brought 
to  her  her  weekly  salary?  A  young  mother  of  my 
acquaintance  who  was  a  concert  violinist  of  much 
ability  has  found  no  time  for  more  than  a  year  to  practice, 
"since  baby  came,"  and  thousands  of  dollars  spent  in 
making  her  a  player  are  being  thrown  away.  To  some 
this  might  seem  the  right  thing.  She  has  found  "the 
home  her  sphere."  To  others  it  seems  a  serious  waste. 
We  advocate  often  that  the  middle-aged  woman  who  has 
reared  her  children  should  return  in  some  way  to  the 
work  of  the  world  outside  the  home.  In  the  case  of  the 
trained  woman  her  training  should  be  made  of  use  in 
such  return.  She  should,  however,  beware  lest  her  tools 
are  rusty  from  disuse. 

We  may  not  perhaps  leave  the  questions  involved  in 
a  discussion  of  vocations  as  they  affect  homemaking 
without  noticing  that  certain  occupations  are  considered 
especially  dangerous  to  the  moral  stability  of  girls. 
Nursing,  private  secretaryship,  and  domestic  service  pre- 
sent dangers  in  direct  proportion  as  they  bring  about 
isolated  companionship  for  the  girl  and  a  male  employer. 
Girls  must  not  enter  these  employments  without  the 
knowledge  of  how  to  protect  themselves  from  lowering 
influences. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    GIRL'S    WORK    (Continued) — VOCATIONS    DETER- 
MINED BY  TRAINING 

THE  question  of  vocation  choosing  begins  to  make  itself 
felt  far  down  in  the  grammar  school,  first  among 
the  retarded  and  backward  children  who  are  old  for 
their  grades  and  are  merely  waiting  and  marking  time 
until  the  law  will  allow  them  to  leave  school  and  go  to 
work.  These  children  are  usually  either  mentally  sub- 
normal or  handicapped  by  foreign  birth  and  so  unable 
to  grasp  the  education  which  is  being  offered  them. 

As  soon  as  they  are  released  the  girls  go  to  the  factory, 
to  the  store,  or  to  help  with  some  one's  baby  or  with  the 
housework.  No  other  places  are  open  to  them,  and  their 
possibilities  in  any  place  are  few.  They  cannot  rise 
because  they  are  mentally  untrained. 

The  upper  grades  of  the  grammar  school  lose  annually 
many  children  who  would  be  able  to  profit  by  the  help 
the  school  offers  to  those  who  can  remain.  Some  drop 
out  because  they  see  no  need  of  remaining  when  the  factory 
will  employ  them  without  further  knowledge.  Others 
chafe  at  spending  time  on  what  seems  to  them,  and  what 
sometimes  is,  quite  unrelated  to  the  life  they  will  lead 
and  the  work  they  will  do.  Some  leave  reluctantly, 
because  their  help  is  needed  in  financing  a  large  family. 
Many  go  gladly,  because  they  will  begin  to  earn  and  to 
have  some  of  the  things  they  ardently  desire.  And 
until  yesterday  the  school  paid  little  attention  to  their 
going,  regarding  it  as  one  of  the  necessary  evils.  Still 
less  attention  did  it  pay  to  what  these  pupils  became 

203 


204  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

after  they  left.  The  school's  responsibility  ended  at 
its  outer  door. 

Now  that  these  conditions  are  being  changed,  the  school 
is  finding  responsibilities  and  opportunities  on  every  hand. 
The  foreign-born  are  taken  out  of  the  regular  grades  where 
they  cannot  fit,  and  are  taught  English  by  themselves 
first  of  all.  The  subnormal  children  are  studied  for 
latent  vocational  possibilities,  and  where  minds  are 
deficient,  hands  are  the  more  carefully  trained  for  suit- 
able work.  Courses  are  being  revised  with  a  view  to 
holding  in  school  the  boy  or  girl  who  wants  practical 
training  for  practical  work.  Secondary  schools  have 
taken  their  eyes  off  college  requirements  long  enough  to 
consider  fitting  the  majority  of  their  pupils  to  face  life 
without  the  college.  Studies  of  vocations  are  being  made; 
vocational  training  is  being  offered;  vocational  guidance 
is  at  last  coming  to  be  considered  the  concern  of  the 
school. 

Vocational  work  is  sometimes  concentrated  in  the  high 
school,  but  this  is  reaching  back  scarcely  far  enough, 
since  those  who  do  not  reach  high  school  need  help  quite 
as  much  as  the  older  ones,  while  those  who  expect  to 
continue  their  training  can  do  so  better  if  they  have  some 
idea  of  the  goal  to  be  reached. 

What  are  the  options  that  the  grammar-school  teacher 
may  present  to  the  girls  under  her  care  ? 

First  of  all,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  school  records 
must  be  kept  with  care  and  discrimination,  so  that  the 
teacher  may  know  the  girl  to  whom  she  speaks.  With 
the  records  in  hand,  she  will  ask  herself  the  following 
questions : 

i.  Is  further  training  at  the  expense  of  the  girl's  family 
possible?  Do  the  girl's  abilities  warrant  effort  on  her 
parents'  part  to  give  her  further  opportunity? 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  205 

2.  Could  the  girl's  parents  continue  to  pay  her  living 
expenses  during  further   training  if   the   training  were 
furnished  at  the  expense  of  the  state  ? 

3.  Could  the  girl  obtain  training  in  return  for  her  per- 
sonal service,  either  with  or  without  pay? 

4.  Would  the  girl  be  able  to  repay  in  skill  acquired 
the  expense  of  her  training,  whether  borne  by  herself,  her 
parents,  or  the  state  ? 

Lines  between  obtainable  work  for  the  trained  and  the 
untrained  girl  are  fairly  sharply  drawn,  and  the  possibili- 
ties for  each  type  must  be  clearly  understood  by  the 
guide.  If  it  is  evident  that  training  cannot  be  obtained 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  flower-making  class  for  girls  of  various  ages.     There  is  no  reason 
why  vocational  work  should  not  begin  in  the  grammar  school 

before  the  girl  must  begin  to  earn,  the  choice  is  necessarily 
a  narrow  one.  The  factories  in  the  neighborhood  should  be 
thoroughly  studied,  and,  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher, 
girls  should  prepare  detailed  reports  with  respect  to  their 


206 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


working  conditions.  The  " blind-alley"  job  should  be 
plainly  labeled,  that  it  may  not  catch  the  girl  unaware. 
Girls  who  must  take  up  factory  work  should  at  least  be 
enabled  to  choose  among  factories  intelligently,  and  if 
possible  should  be  fortified  with  an  avocation  that  will 


Millinery  class  in  a  trade  school.     Where  trade  schools  do  not 

offer  such  training,   there  are  opportunities  for  apprentice 

•work  for  girls 

supply  them  with  the  interest  their  daily  task  fails  to 
inspire  and  that  will  provide  an  anchor  against  the  insta- 
bility toward  which  the  factory  girl  tends. 

The  possibilities  for  apprentice  work  with  dressmakers 
or  milliners  or  in  other  handwork  should  also  be  made 
known.  Girls  begin  here,  as  in  the  factory,  at  simple  and 
monotonous  tasks,  but  the  possibilities  of  advancement 
are  far  greater  and  mental  development  is  unquestionably 
more  likely.  The  ability  acquired  by  such  workers,  as 
they  progress,  to  undertake  and  carry  through  a  complete 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  207 

piece  of  work  is  not  only  satisfying  to  the  workers  them- 
selves, but  of  value  in  later  years.  They  learn  to  analyze 
their  constructive  problems  and  to  work  out  the  various 
steps  of  the  work  to  its  ultimate  conclusion — a  knowledge 
which  the  factory  girl  never  attains. 

Some  few  girls  will  need  to  be  shown  the  possibilities 
which  lie  in  independent  productive  work.  For  the  girl 
who  has  talent  or  even  merely  deftness  in  manual  work, 
coupled  with  initiative  and  some  degree  of  originality, 
such  work  may  bring  a  better  return  than  working  for 
others.  Most  girls,  however,  lack  courage  to  start  upon 
independent  work,  especially  if  they  are  in  immediate 
need  of  earning  and  are  untrained.  It  often  happens, 
however,  that  they  do  not  appraise  at  its  true  value  the 
training  they  have  received.  The  grammar-school  girl, 
under  present  methods  of  teaching,  is  often  fully  qualified 
to  do  either  plain  cooking  or  plain  sewing,  but  since  she 
does  not  desire  to  enter  domestic  service,  she  considers 
these  accomplishments  very  little  or  not  at  all  in  counting 
her  assets  for  earning.  Some  girls  have  found  ready 
employment  and  good  returns  in  home  baking,  in  canning 
fruit  and  vegetables,  or  in  mending,  making  simple  clothes 
for  little  children,  or  in  making  buttonholes  and  doing 
other  "finishing  work"  for  busy  housewives.  Work  of 
these  sorts,  undertaken  in  a  small  way,  has  often  assumed 
the  proportions  of  a  business,  requiring  all  of  a  young 
woman's  time  and  paying  her  quite  as  well  as  and  often 
better  than  less  interesting  work  in  shop  or  factory.  A  girl 
of  my  acquaintance  earns  a  comfortable  living  at  home 
with  her  crochet  needle.  Another  has  paid  her  way 
through  high  school  and  college  by  raising  sweet  peas. 

The  untrained  girl  who  loves  an  outdoor  life  has  fewer 
opportunities  than  other  girls  unless  she  is  capable  of 
independent  work.  If  she  is  capable  of  this  and  has 


208  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

sufficient  ability  to  study  her  work,  gardening  and  poultry 
or  bee  culture  may  open  the  way  for  her  to  work  and  be 


Courtesy  of  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture 

Some  girls  have   built  up  a  good  business  canning  fruits  and 
ibles  at  home 


happy.  School  gardens,  poultry  clubs,  and  canning  clubs 
have  shown  many  a  girl  what  she  may  do  in  these  ways. 
Many  times  too  little  is  realized  of  the  possibilities  of 
these  grammar-school  girls  who  are  crowded  by  necessity 
into  the  working  ranks.  We  cannot  shirk  our  responsi- 
bilities in  regard  to  them,  however,  although  they  escape 
from  our  school  systems  and  bravely  take  up  the  burden 
of  their  own  lives.  Quite  as  many  of  these  girls  as  of  more 
favored  ones  will  marry  and  be  among  the  mothers  of 
the  next  generation.  The  work  they  do  in  the  interval 
between  school  and  home  will  leave  its  impress  even  more 
strongly  than  upon  the  girl  whose  school  life  lasts  longer 
and  who  is  therefore  older  as  well  as  better  equipped  when 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  209 

she  enters  upon  her  work.  Few  of  these  younger  girls  in 
times  past  can  be  said  to  have  done  anything  other  than 
drift  into  work  which  would  make  or  spoil  their  lives  and 
perhaps  those  of  their  children  after  them.  It  is  well  that 
the  responsibility  of  the  school  toward  them  is  being 
recognized  and  met. 

A  distinct  duty  of  the  grammar-school  teacher  is  to 
make  known  the  facts  concerning  short  cuts  for  grammar- 
school  girls  to  office  work.  Unscrupulous  business 
"colleges"  sometimes  mislead  these  immature  girls  into 
believing  that  a  short  course  taken  in  their  school  will 
enable  the  girls  to  fill  office  positions.  Facts  are  at  hand 
which  show  the  futility  of  attempting  office  work  under 


prosperous  poultry  farm.     Poultry  farming  opens  the   way 
for  the  girl  who  loves  an  outdoor  life  to  work  in  the 
open  and  be  happy 

such  conditions,  and  teachers  should  be  very  careful  to 
see  that  all  the  facts  are  in  the  possession  of  their  pupils. 
In  the  early  days  of  high  schools  usually  the  only  dis- 
tinction, if  any,  in  courses  was  "general"  and  "classical." 


2io  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

To-day  we  have  many  courses,  or  in  the  larger  cities 
different  schools  fit  boys  and  girls  for  varying  paths 
in  life.  The  college-preparatory  course  or  the  classical 
high  school  leads  to  college.  The  commercial  course  or 
school  leads  to  office  work.  The  manual  training  or 


Benson   Polytechnic  School  for  Girls,   Portland,    Oregon.     The 

trade   school  leads   to   definite  occupations.     The  girl  with 

mechanical  ability  may  find  her  vocation  in  millinery, 

dressmaking,  or  the  various  sewing-machine  trades 

industrial  or  practical  arts  course  or  high  school  leads  to 
efficient  handwork.  The  trade  school  leads  to  definite 
occupations.  The  difficulty  now  is  to  help  girls  choose 
intelligently  which  course  or  school  will  best  meet  their 
requirements.  This  involves  vocation  study  in  the 
grammar  school. 

The  girl  who  terminates  her  formal  education  with  her 
graduation  from  high  school  may  find  herself  not  very 
much  better  placed,  apparently,  than  the  girl  who  has 
dropped  out  of  school  farther  back.  Many  openings 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  211 

into  desirable  occupations  are  still  closed  to  her.  Often 
her  opportunities,  however,  are  much  greater  than  they 
seem.  All  facts  go  to  show  that  the  high-school  girl  makes 
more  rapid  progress  in  efficiency,  and  therefore  in  pay, 
than  the  younger  girl,  even  when  she  seems  to  begin  at  the 
same  work.  Some  fields,  too,  are  open  to  her  that  are  not 
usually  possible  for  the  grammar-school  girl.  In  office 
work  the  high-school  girl  who  has  specialized  in  her 
training  may  make  a  very  creditable  showing.  Many 
thousands  of  high-school  graduates  are  received  into 
telephone  exchanges  where  with  a  brief  period  of  practice 
they  become  efficient  workers.  A  very  few  high-school 
girls  become  teachers  in  country  schools  without  further 
training,  but  the  number  is  decreasing  every  year.  If 
she  meets  the  age  requirement,  the  high-school  girl  may 
enter  a  training  school  for  nurses,  gaining  her  specialized 
training  in  return  for  her  services  to  the  hospital. 

The  high-school  girl  who  can  spare  time  and  money  for 
some  further  training  finds  a  larger  field  open;  but,  to 
make  the  most  of  what  high  school  has  to  offer,  her  plans 
should  be  made  as  early  as  possible  in  the  high-school 
course  —  at  the  very  beginning  if  it  can  be  managed.  The 
girl  must  know  what  further  training  she  is  making  ready 
for,  must  choose  electives  in  high  school  to  help  her  make 
ready,  or  possibly  to  offset  the  specializing  of  this  later 
work  by  some  general  culture  she  may  otherwise  miss 
entirely.  Vocation  study,  therefore,  and  vocational 
guidance  must  be  quite  as  much  a  part  of  the  course  for 
the  girl  who  will  " train"  for  her  special  work  as  for  the 
girl  who  goes  directly  from  the  secondary  school  to  her 
vocation. 

One  high-school  Senior  writes:  "My  special  vocation 
has  not  yet  been  chosen,  but  if  it  becomes  necessary  for 
me  to  earn  my  own  living  I  should  like  to  be  either  a  nurse, 


212  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

a  teacher,  milliner,  or  director  of  a  cafeteria.  I  would 
probably  choose  the  position  that  was  open  at  the  time." 

Here  we  have  the  girl  who  is  in  no  hurry  to  choose,  and 
who  probably  has  a  more  or  less  vague  notion  of  the  com- 
parative conditions,  requirements,  and  rewards  of  the  four 
vocations  she  mentions.  In  contrast  to  this,  listen  to  a 
high-school  student  who  has  been  studying  herself  and 
her  possible  vocation  in  much  detail  in  class  work.  She 
says:  "I  find  that  I  have  made  good  school  records  only 
in  subjects  where  I  had  materials  I  could  see  and  handle. 
I  have  never  done  well  in  arithmetic  or  mathematics,  but 
in  drawing,  physics,  elementary  biology,  and  domestic 
science  I  made  good  marks.  I  do  not  like  to  sew,  because 
it  tires  me  to  sit  still.  I  enjoy  cooking  and  marketing. 

"I  like  to  plan  meals  and  to  make  up  new  recipes.  I 
hear  that  hospitals  and  institutions  employ  women  at 
very  good  salaries  to  buy  all  the  foodstuffs  used  in  their 
kitchens.  The  expert  dietitian  also  plans  meals  and 
arranges  dietaries.  I  learn  that  Teachers  College, 
Columbia,  has  courses  of  study  leading  to  this  profession, 
and  I  have  written  to  ask  for  full  information." 

In  the  class  of  which  this  girl  is  a  member,  each  girl  is 
considering  her  future  as  this  one  is  doing.  Each  gathers 
all  available  data  in  regard  to  the  vocation  she  is  studying. 
Her  reports  become  a  part  of  the  class  records.  She  makes 
as  full  a  report  as  possible  as  to  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  the  occupation,  the  schools  or  training  classes 
that  prepare  for  it,  the  length  and  cost  of  preparation, 
possibilities  of  employment,  salaries  paid,  and  other 
details. 

Since  training  cannot  alter  fundamentals,  but  merely 
builds  upon  the  girl's  nature  and  heredity,  the  same  classi- 
fications obtain  in  the  choice  of  the  girl  who  can  have 
training  as  in  that  of  the  girl  who  goes  untrained  to  her 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  213 

vocation.  There  are  still  the  producers,  the  distributors, 
and  those  who  serve ;  and  it  is  still  important  that  the  girl 
should  find  a  place  in  the  right  group. 

The  producers  will  include  the  designers,  the  interior 
decorators,  the  expert  dietitians,  the  municipal  inspectors 
of  food  and  housing,  rural  consulting  housekeepers,  state 
or  country  canning-club  agents,  the  women  who  organize 
and  carry  on  model  laundries,  either  cooperative  or  other- 
wise, the  managers  of  manufacturing  enterprises,  the 
farmers,  the  photographers,  the  artists,  the  journalists, 
and  the  authors. 

The  distributors  are  chiefly  represented  by  the  higher 
type  of  office  workers,  who  are  the  "idea  thinkers"  of 
the  business  world,  since  they  neither  make  nor  handle 
products,  but  merely  manipulate  the  symbols  which  stand 
for  the  products  they  seldom  if  ever  see.  The  women 
who  manage  buying  and  selling  enterprises  for  themselves 
usually  belong  to  the  trained  group. 

The  service  group  among  trained  women  is  a  large 
one,  including  nurses,  teachers,  doctors'  and  dentists' 
assistants,  various  social  workers,  librarians,  secretaries 
and  other  confidential  office  assistants,  directors  or 
"house  mothers"  in  school  and  college  dormitories  and 
in  institutions,  dentists,  physicians,  lawyers,  ministers. 

Within  the  group  there  is  wide  range  of  choice,  differ- 
ing qualifications  are  necessary,  and  varying  training  is 
to  be  undertaken.  Girls,  with  the  help  of  a  vocational 
expert,  should  analyze  their  physical  and  mental  qualities 
and  habits,  and  should  study  somewhat  exhaustively 
the  vocation  for  which  they  seem  to  find  themselves  fitted. 

"I  should  like  to  be  a  nurse,  or  a  teacher,  or  a  milliner, 
or  the  manager  of  a  cafeteria"  will  not  do,  since  those 
vocations  presuppose  some  years  of  widely  differing 
training.  Perhaps  the  girl  will  narrow  the  choice  to 


214 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


nursing  or  teaching.     Then  s^he  must  place  over  against 
each   other   the   two   professions — special   qualifications 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

The  children's  ward  in  a  hospital.     The  nurse  must  be  resourceful 
and  possess  good  judgment 

required,  length  and  cost  of  training,  personal  obstacles 
to  be  overcome,  and  especially  the  demand  and  supply 
of  nurses  and  teachers  in  her  locality.  Upon  these 
depends  the  girl's  chance  to  succeed  when  she  is  fitted 
and  launched. 

The  student  who  takes  up  college  work,  not  as  a  special- 
ized training,  but  as  a  completion  of  her  general  education, 
stands  somewhat  by  herself.  Such  a  girl  may  perhaps 
put  off  vocational  decision  until  she  is  part  way  through 
her  college  years.  The  college  sometimes  awakens 
ambitions  and  brings  to  light  abilities  not  hitherto  dis- 
covered; and  even  when  this  does  not  occur,  the  choice 
may  be  made  from  the  highest  and  most  responsible 
positions  filled  by  women.  From  the  college  girls  we 
draw  our  high-school  teachers  and  college  instructors, 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  215 

our  doctors,  lawyers,  and  preachers,  in  so  far  as  these 
professions  are  filled  by  women. 

We  are  confronted  by  the  statement,  made  again  and 
again  and  reinforced  by  formidable  rows  of  figures,  that 
the  more  training  a  girl  receives,  the  less  she  is  inclined 
to  marry  or,  if  she  does  marry,  to  have  children.  The 
fact  seems  undeniable  that  in  our  larger  eastern  women's 
colleges,  at  least,  not  more  than  half  the  graduates  marry 
up  to  the  age  of  forty,  which  we  may  accept  as  the  prob- 
able limit  of  the  marriage  age  for  the  average  woman. 
The  natural  inference  is  that  a  college  education  in  some 
way  prevents  or  discourages  marriage.  This  may  or 


Photograph  by  Brown  Bros. 

Among  the  many  vocations  belonging  to  the  service  group  teaching 
is  one  of  the  most  popular 

may  not  be  true.  To  be  quite  fair,  the  statistics  should 
cover  the  coeducational  colleges  as  well  as  the  colleges 
for  women  alone.  Also  some  attempt  should  be  made  to 

15 


2l6 


Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 


discover  how  the  likelihood  of  marriage  is  affected  by  the 
age  at  which  girls  finish  their  college  course.  Do  the 
younger  girls  of  a  college  class  marry,  while  the  older  ones 
do  not?  Are  the  younger  married  graduates  more  often 
mothers  than  the  older  ones,  or  do  they  have  more  children  ? 


Photograph  by  Bro* 

The  influence  of  the  librarian  extends  far  beyond  the  walls 
of  the  library 

If  it  is  true  that  training  is  interfering  with  marriage 
and  motherhood  for  our  girls,  the  next  step  is  not  neces- 
sarily, as  some  modern  hysterical  students  of  the  question 
seem  to  suggest,  that  we  immediately  cut  out  the  training 
which,  in  case  they  do  marry,  will  make  them  far  more 
valuable  wives,  mothers,  and  members  of  the  community; 
but  rather  so  to  time  and  place  the  training,  and  if  neces- 
sary so  to  alter  its  character,  that  any  such  tendency 
away  from  marriage  will  be  removed  and  that  the  trained 
women  of  the  college  and  professional  school  shall  be 
available  for  the  great  work  of  mothering  the  nation  of 
the  future. 


Vocations  Determined  by  Training  217 

A  final  word  as  to  the  place  of  the  vocational  guide 
in  the  choosing  of  vocations  may  not  be  amiss.  That 
every  teacher  should  consider  himself  or  herself  a  helper 
in  this  most  important  work  we  must  agree;  but  that 
any  teacher  must  walk  carefully,  and  use  the  guiding 
hand  but  sparingly,  is  equally  true. 

The  object  of  vocational  help  is  not  merely  to  keep 
the  "square  peg"  out  of  the  "round  hole."  The  girl 
arbitrarily  placed  in  a  suitable  occupation  may  never 
discover  why  she  is  there,  and  may  be  handicapped  all 
her  life  by  a  deep  conviction  that  she  fits  somewhere 
else.  "Know  thyself"  is  a  good  old  maxim  yet.  The 
teacher  or  vocational  guide  is  fitted  by  the  place  of  obser- 
vation she  holds  to  help  the  girl  to  study  herself  and  the 
possibilities  that  life  holds  out  to  such  as  she  thus  finds 
herself  to  be.  The  final  choice  should  be  made  by  the  girl. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
MARRIAGE 

MARRIAGE  may,  or  may  not,  in  these  days,  be 
the  opening  door  into  the  homemaker's  career. 
Many  a  young  woman  is  a  homemaker  before  she  marries. 
On  the  other  hand,  women  sometimes  marry  without  any 
thought  of  making  a  home. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  marriage  and 
homemaking  do  go  hand  in  hand.  The  great  majority 
of  wives  become  managers  of  homes  of  one  sort  or  another. 
Shall  we  then  frankly  educate  our  girls  for  marriage  — 
' '  dangle  a  wedding  ring  ever  before  their  eyes  "  ?  Or  shall 
we  regard  marriages  as  "made  in  heaven"  and  keep  our 
hands  off  the  whole  matter? 

The  proportion  of  marriages  in  the  United  States 
which  terminate  in  divorce  was  in  1910  one  in  twelve. 
Divorce  in  this  country  is  now  three  times  as  common 
as  forty  years  ago.  The  success  or  failure  of  marriages 
cannot,  however,  be  measured  merely  by  the  divorce 
test.  We  cannot  avoid  the  knowledge  that  many  other 
unhappy  unions  are  endured  until  release  comes  with 
death.  When  we  say  unhappy  marriages,  we  mean  not 
only  those  which  become  unendurable,  but  all  those  in 
which  marriage  impedes  the  development  and  hence  the 
efficiency  of  either  party  to  the  contract.  Unhappy 
marriages  include  not  only  the  mismated,  but  also  those 
whose  unhappiness  in  married  life  is  due  to  their  own 
or  their  mate's  misconception  of  what  marriage  really 
means.  It  is  obviously  impossible  even  to  estimate  the 
number  of  marriages  which  are  happy  or  unhappy;  but 
we  are  safe  in  saying  that  the  processes  of  adjustment 

218 


Marriage  219 

in  many  cases  are  far  harder  than  they  ought  to  be,  and 
that  many  marriages  which  seemingly  ought  to  bring 
happiness  fail  of  real  success. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  marriages  fall  short 
of  what  they  might  be,  it  would  seem  that  some  sort  of 
assistance  to  the  girl  in  choosing  a  husband  and  to  the 
young  man  in  choosing  a  wife  would  be  wise,  such  as 
the  instruction  we  give  boys  and  girls  to  enable  them  to 
be  successful  in  the  industrial  world.  In  short,  it  is  not 
enough  to  prepare  girls  for  homemaking  by  making  all  our 
references  to  marriage  indirect.  Young  men  and  women 
are  entitled  to  more  knowledge  of  marriage,  its  rights, 
privileges,  and  duties;  they  need  to  realize  that  in  these 
days  of  complex  living  marriage  is  a  difficult  relation 
which  requires  their  best  energies  and  wisest  thought. 

The  modern  marriage  differs  from  the  marriage  of 
earlier  centuries  in  direct  proportion  as  the  status  of 
woman  has  changed.  The  ancient  marriage,  and  indeed 
the  medieval  one,  and  the  marriage  of  our  own  grand- 
mother's time  began  with  submission  and  usually  ended 
with  subjection.  But  the  modern  marriage  at  its  best  is  a 
spiritual  and  material  partnership.  It  is  the  modern  mar- 
riage at  its  best  and  otherwise  with  which  we  have  to  do. 

Half  a  century  ago  girls  married  at  eighteen  or  even 
earlier,  took  charge  of  their  households,  were  mothers  of 
good-sized  families  at  twenty-eight  or  thirty,  and  were 
frequently  grandmothers  at  forty. 

Nowadays  early  marriage  is  the  exception.  For  years 
the  marriage  age  has  been  steadily  rising,  until  some 
students  profess  to  be  alarmed  at  a  prospect  of  marriage 
disappearing,  the  maternal  instinct  becoming  lost  by 
disuse,  and  the  race  finally  becoming  extinct.  However, 
the  maximum  marriage  age,  at  least  for  the  present,  seems 
to  have  been  reached,  and  statistics  show  a  slight  dropping 
within  the  last  two  or  three  years. 


220  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

The  forces  operating  to  fix  the  marriage  age  are  exceed- 
ingly complex.  The  higher  education  of  girls  has 
undoubtedly  been  a  large  factor  in  the  postponement 
of  marriage.  Its  effect  has  been  wrought  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  The  increasing  years  in  schoolroom  and  lecture 
hall  have  been  directly  responsible  in  many  cases.  The 
ambitions  aroused  account  for  many  more.  The  increased 
ability  of  girls  to  earn  their  own  living  and  public  accept- 
ance of  their  doing  so  have  practically  removed  "marriage 
as  a  trade"  from  the  consideration  of  girls  and  their 
parents.  Girls  no  longer  need  to  marry  in  order  to  trans- 
fer the  burden  of  their  support  from  father  to  husband. 
Instead  they  may  "go  to  work."  And  once  at  work 
they  are  often  reluctant  to  give  up  a  personal  income 
for  the  uncertainties  of  sharing  what  a  husband  earns. 
Then,  too,  the  broadening  effect  of  education  makes 
marriage  in  the  abstract  a  less  absorbing,  momentous 
subject  for  the  girl's  thoughts.  Also  the  rebound  toward 
selfishness  coincident  with  woman's  "emancipation"  leads 
girls  to  put  off  what  they  are  sometimes  led  to  consider 
a  sacrifice  of  themselves.  The  tragedies  of  the  divorce 
courts  are  directly  responsible  for  many  a  girlish  deter- 
mination not  to  marry,  a  determination  which  is  broken 
only  when  the  first  zest  of  mature  life  has  passed  and  when 
the  woman  begins  to  long  for  the  home  ties  she  has 
resolved  to  deny  herself  and  decides  to  take  the  risk. 
The  increased  cost  of  living  and  the  ever-increasing 
responsibilities  of  rearing,  educating,  and  launching  a 
family  of  children  lead  many  young  people  to  postpone 
marriage  until  they  can  command  a  larger  income.  The 
strain  of  modern  industrial  life,  with  its  fierce  competi- 
tions and  its  early  discard  of  the  elderly  and  unfit,  finds 
many  girls  who  would  otherwise  marry  burdened  with  the 
care  of  parents  who  can  ill  spare  the  daughter's  help. 


The  Halliday  Historic  Photograph  Co. 

LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT 

Miss  Alcotfs  lifelong  devotion  to  the  interests  of  her  family  is  a  well- 
known  story.  She  made  a  happy  home  for  them,  and  at  the  same  time 
attained  marked  success  in  the  literary  field 


222  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

If  all  these  obstacles  to  early  marriage  could  be  over- 
come, the  question  of  the  wisest  time  for  marrying  might 
be  approached  fairly  and  squarely  on  its  merits. 

Too  early  marriage  means  immaturity  in  choice,  with 
the  possibility  always  of  unfortunate  mistakes  and  sad 
awakening.  Too  late  marriage,  on  the  other  hand, 
means  settled  convictions  which  often  result  in  that 
incompatibility  which  seeks  relief  in  divorce.  The  plasti- 
city of  youth  at  least  promises  adaptability.  The  mature 
judgment  of  later  years  ought  to  afford  a  wise  choice. 
Between  extreme  youth  then  and  a  too  settled  maturity 
is  the  wise  time. 

In  order  to  approach  the  ideal  in  the  marriage  relation, 
the  time  of  marriage  should  be  so  placed  that  the  girl  is 
(i)  physically  fit,  (2)  fully  educated,  (3)  broadened  by 
some  experience  with  the  world. 

She  must  not  be  too  old  to  bear  children  safely,  or  to 
rear  them  sympathetically  as  they  approach  the  difficult 
years.  She  must  not  be  physically  worn  by  excessive 
industrial  service,  nor  with  enthusiasms  burned  out  by  the 
same  cause.  Probably  between  twenty-two  and  twenty- 
five  the  girl  reaches  the  height  of  physical  fitness.  She 
may  also  by  that  time  have  completed  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, and  she  may  even  have  done  that  and  also  have 
put  her  training  to  useful  service.  It  would  be  better  if 
girls  completed  their  college  courses  earlier  than  most  do. 
However,  since  the  great  majority  of  girls  do  not  have  a 
college  education,  the  generally  increased  age  of  marriage 
cannot  rightfully  be  laid,  as  many  seem  to  lay  it,  at  the 
doors  of  the  college  women.  Schemes  of  education  in  the 
future  will  undoubtedly  try  to  remedy  the  defect  of  pres- 
ent systems  in  this  respect.  If  most  girls  could  finish 
their  training  in  college  or  professional  school  at  twenty,  as 
some  do  now,  tlje  world  would  be  rewarded  by  earlier 


Photograph  by  Paul  Thompson 

RUTH  MCENERY  STUART 

Mrs.  Stuart  was  one  of  those  in  -whom  the  talent  for  homemaking  and 
the  talent  for  creative  literary  work  existed  side  by  side.  On  her  hus- 
band's plantation  in  Arkansas  she  found  many  of  the,  types  for  the 
characters  in  her  stories 


224  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

marriages  and  probably  more  of  them.  There  would  be 
more  children,  reared  by  younger  and  more  enthusiastic 
mothers.  The  more  difficult  professions,  which  could  not 
be  successfully  undertaken  by  the  girl  of  twenty,  would 
then  be  reserved,  as  they  generally  are  now,  for  the 
women  whose  ambition  is  unusually  strong  and  absorbing. 
Attempts  are  frequently  made  to  show  that  ambition  is 
becoming  an  inordinately  prominent  quality  in  all  women, 
but  there  are  few  facts  to  support  so  wide  a  contention. 
The  girl  graduate  of  twenty,  reinforced  by  from  two  to 
five  years  of  work  in  the  vocation  she  has  chosen,  is  usually 
fit,  physically  and  mentally,  for  marriage.  More  than 
that,  she  may  by  that  age,  usually,  be  trusted  to  know 
what  she  wants,  even  in  a  husband,  if  she  is  ever  going  to 
know. 

In  the  day  when  girls  married  nearly  always  "in  their 
teens,"  wise  choice  of  a  husband  called  for  selection  of  a 
man  considerably  older  than  the  girl  herself.  This  dis- 
parity is  less  common  in  these  days,  and  is  really  less 
desirable  than  it  once  was.  The  girl  of  the  earlier  time 
reached  maturity  of  mind  earlier  than  the  girl  of  to-day 
with  her  prolonged  education,  and  much  earlier  than  the 
boy  of  her  day  did.  He  was  still  being  educated  in  school 
or  as  an  apprentice,  and  was  hardly  ready  to  undertake 
the  responsibility  of  a  family  at  an  age  when  the  girl's 
scanty  education  was  long  since  completed  and  it  was 
considered  high  time  that  her  support  was  laid  upon  a 
husband's  shoulders. 

It  used  to  be  said,  "Men  keep  their  youth  better  than 
women,"  so  that  any  disparity  in  age  at  the  time  of  mar- 
riage was  soon  lost.  This  is  no  longer  true  as  it  was  once. 
The  early  marriage,  with  early  and  excessive  childbearing, 
overwork,  and  the  numerous  restrictions  that  custom  laid 
upon  her,  were  responsible  for  woman's  loss  of  youth. 


l 


a  "3  « 


1. 


226  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

These  conditions  no  longer  exist.  The  woman  of  forty 
or  fifty  can  now  usually  hold  her  own  with  the  man  of  her 
own  age  in  point  of  youth. 

Another  consideration  in  favor  of  more  nearly  equal  age 
lies  in  the  fact  that  formerly  men  did  not  look  for  wives 
who  were  their  mental  equals.  They  did  not  really  desire 
mental  equals  as  wives.  To-day  they  do,  or,  if  there  still 
lingers  in  the  minds  of  some  of  them  the  old  notion  that 
wives  must  be  clinging  vines,  the  lingering  notion  will 
soon  be  gone.  The  marriage  of  equality  possesses  too 
many  advantages  for  both  parties  to  be  thrown  aside. 
The  wife  who  can  think,  who  is  mature  enough  to  be 
capable  of  real  partnership,  is  the  wife  surely  of  to-morrow, 
if  not  of  to-day. 

Among  the  forces  that  control  marriage  may  be  men- 
tioned (i)  physical  attraction,  (2)  continued  social  rela- 
tionships, (3)  dissimilarity,  (4)  affection,  (5)  barter. 

It  is  usually  difficult  to  say  of  any  marriage  that  any 
one  of  these  forces  alone  caused  the  mating.  It  may  have 
been  physical  attraction  together  with  everyday  com- 
panionship; or  physical  attraction  and  dissimilarity  or 
strangeness,  resulting  in  what  we  know  as  love  at  first 
sight.  Or  it  may  have  been  affection  of  slow  growth,  or 
affection  with  an  element  of  appreciation  of  worldly 
advantage,  or  it  may  have  been  a  little  physical  attraction 
with  a  great  deal  of  desire  for  social  position  or  wealth, 
or,  ugliest  of  all,  it  may  have  been  pure  barter,  without 
personal  attraction  of  any  sort.  For  these  worldy  advan- 
tages you  offer,  I  will  sell  you  my  body  and  my  soul. 

To  secure  the  finest  marriages  for  girls  we  must  insure 
three  conditions:  (i)  high  ideals  of  marriage  among  our 
adolescents,  (2)  better  knowledge  of  men,  and  (3)  wise 
companionships  during  the  years  from  fourteen  to  twenty- 
five. 


MARGARET  JUNKIN  PRESTON 

The  South  is  justly  proud  of  this  poet  of  no  mean  rank  who  gave 
herself  unstintedly  to  her  home  duties  and  responsibilities 


228  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

Physical  attraction  on  one  or  both  sides  is  undoubtedly 
the  greatest  force  in  marriage  selection.  It  is  only  when 
physical  attraction  exerts  its  influence  upon  a  girl  whose 
ideal  of  a  husband  is  low  or  vague  or  incorrect  that  the 
danger  is  great.  Physical  attraction  is  not  love,  but  it 
may  be — often  it  is  —  the  basis  of  love  when  it  exists 
between  two  who  are  suited  to  a  life  together. 

Generally  speaking,  girls  will  find  married  life  easier, 
and  their  husbands  will  find  life  more  satisfactory,  when 
the  two  have  been  'reared  with  approximately  the  same 
ideals.  The  girl  who  falls  in  love  with  a  man  largely 
because  he  is  "different"  from  the  boys  among  whom  she 
has  grown  up  often  finds  that  very  difference  a  stumbling 
block  to  domestic  happiness.  Marriages  across  such 
chasms  where  there  should  be  common  ground  are  more 
hazardous  than  between  those  whose  education,  social 
training,  friends,  and  beliefs  are  of  the  same  type.  When 
they  do  succeed,  they  undoubtedly  are  the  richer  for  the 
variety  of  experience  husband  and  wife  have  to  give  each 
other;  and,  too,  they  show  an  adaptability  on  the  part  of 
one  or  both  which  argues  well  for  continued  happiness. 
Commonly,  however,  they  do  not  succeed. 

There  are,  also,  deeper  matters  than  these  to  be  con- 
sidered. Is  this  man  or  this  woman  worthy  of  lifelong 
devotion?  Is  the  love  he  offers  or  she  offers  in  return  for 
the  love  you  offer,  the  love  that  gives  or  the  love  that 
merely  takes?  Has  he  been  a  success  at  something,  any- 
thing, that  counts?  Has  he  a  sense  of  responsibility  in 
marriage  and  the  burdens  it  brings?  Does  he  desire  a 
home?  Do  his  views  as  to  children  reflect  man's  natural 
desire  to  found  a  family  or  merely  the  selfish  desire  for  the 
freedom  and  luxury  which  the  absence  of  children  may 
make  possible?  Has  he  a  right  to  approach  fatherhood — 
is  his  body  physically  and  morally  clean? 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

COLONEL  AND  MRS.  ROOSEVELT  WITH  MEMBERS  OF  THEIR  FAMILY 

Colonel  Roosevelt's  own  family  was  preeminently  one  in  which  the 
father  shared  with  the  mother  a  keen  sense  of  the  responsibilities  of 
marriage  and  the  highest  ideals  of  home  life 


230  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

These  are  serious  question's  with  which  to  weight  the 
wings  of  a  young  man's  or  a  young  woman's  fancy.  But 
the  attraction  which  cannot  stand  before  them  is  not  safe 
as  a  basis  for  marriage.  Many  a  young  man  or  woman 
has  willfully  turned  closed  eyes  to  the  selfishness  or  the 
irresponsibility  which  will  later  wreck  a  home,  because 
attraction  blinded  common  sense. 

Barter,  the  lowest  form  of  marriage,  exists  and  has 
always  existed  whenever  the  material  benefits  that  either 
husband  or  wife  expects  to  derive  from  the  connection 
are  the  impelling  forces  in  the  union.  The  woman  desires 
wealth,  social  position,  a  title — or  perhaps  nothing  more 
than  security  from  poverty  or  the  necessity  of  work  out- 
side the  home,  or  perhaps  no  more  than  the  mere  security 
of  a  home  itself.  The  man  in  other  cases  desires  wealth, 
or  social  position,  or  a  wife  who  will  grace  his  fine  home, 
or  some  business  connection  which  the  marriage  will 
afford.  And  upon  these  things  men  and  women  build, 
or  attempt  to  build,  the  foundations  of  home  life. 

It  is  not  true  of  course  that  every  girl  of  moderate 
means,  or  without  means,  who  marries  a  man  of  wealth 
does  so  because  of  his  money.  Nor  is  it  always  true  when 
the  cases  are  reversed.  Love  may  be  as  real  between  those 
two  as  between  any  others.  But  when  it  is  true  that  the 
marriage  is  an  exchange  of  commodities,  it  is  no  different 
from  prostitution  under  other  circumstances.  In  fact, 
it  is  prostitution  under  cover,  without  acceptance  of  the 
stigma  which  for  centuries  has  been  the  portion  of  volun- 
tary selling  of  the  body  to  him  who  cares  to  buy. 

Eugenics,  a  modern  science  which  aims  at  race  regen- 
eration, lays  down  many  laws  and  restrictions  for  those 
who  are  selecting  their  mates.  By  the  following  of  these 
laws  and  restrictions  in  the  selection  of  husbands  and 
wives,  undesirable  traits  in  the  offspring  are  to  be  weeded 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood 

JULIA  WARD  HOWE  AND  HER  GRANDDAUGHTER 

In  the  life  of  Mrs.  Howe  was  exemplified  the  identity  of  ideals  of 
husband  and  wife.  They  worked  side  by  side  in  the  literary  field  and 
in  their  philanthropic  and  reform  work 


16 


232  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

out  and  desirable  ones  are  to  be  fostered  and  increased. 
That  these  laws  should  be  studied  with  the  care  used  by 
breeders  of  plants  and  animals  goes  without  saying.  That 
if  they  are  followed  strictly  the  number  of  marriages  would 
be  materially  reduced,  at  least  for  a  considerable  time,  is 
doubtless  true.  That  marriages  in  which  eugenics  has 
played  the  major  part  in  selection  will  present  new  prob- 
lems is  probably  equally  true.  If  marriages  were  mere 
temporary  unions,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  offspring, 
eugenic  principles  could  not  be  too  exactly  nor  too  coldly 
applied  to  the  selection  of  mates.  But  since  marriage 
implies  living  together  and  becoming,  or  continuing  to  be, 
worthy  members  of  the  community,  and  since  the  offspring 
are  fashioned  no  less  by  the  conditions  of  their  upbringing 
than  by  heredity,  selection  of  mates  must  involve  more 
than  looking  for  eugenically  perfect  fathers  and  mothers 
for  the  generations  yet  unborn.  Eugenics,  however,  is  in 
infancy  as  a  science,  and,  like  the  human  infants  it  would 
protect,  must  react  to  the  environment  in  which  it  finds 
itself  and  must  feel  the  chastening  hand  of  time  before  its 
value  can  be  known.  Agitation  in  the  direction  of  allow- 
ing posterity  to  be  "well  born"  can  never  be  out  of  place. 
What  being  well  born  is  and  how  it  shall  be  attained  is 
a  worthy  subject  of  research.  As  a  cold,  exact  science, 
however,  eugenics  can  never  hope  for  application  without 
some  consideration  of  the  personal  equation  which  makes 
marriage  at  its  best  not  a  mating  merely,  but  a  joining  of 
souls. 

Choosing  a  husband  or  a  wife  is,  after  all,  merely  the 
beginning  of  the  marriage  problem.  Good  husbands  are 
not  discovered,  but  made,  from  originally  good  or  perhaps 
indifferent  or  in  rare  cases  from  even  poor  material,  by 
the  reaction  of  married  life  upon  what  was  previously 
mere  "man."  Even  so  with  wives. 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE 

Mrs.  Crane,  an  expert  on  sanitation,  has  successfully  applied  the 
principles  of  good  housekeeping  to  civic  affairs  in  many  cities,  and 
has  thus  made  women  more  of  a  factor  in  the  community  at  large 


234  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

The  successful  marriage  presupposes  unselfishness,  even 
carried  if  necessary  to  the  point  of  sacrifice,  but  it  must 
be  unselfishness  for  two,  not  for  one  alone.  Neither  the 
"child  wife"  who  must  be  carried  as  a  burden,  nor  the 
complacent  husband  who  forms  the  center  of  a  smoothly 
revolving  little  world  patiently  turned  by  a* silent  wife, 
has  any  part  in  the  marriage  of  equality — the  only 
marriage  worthy  of  the  name. 

The  successful  marriage  calls  also  for  freedom — again 
for  two.  Women  sometimes  hesitate  to  marry  because 
the  old  idea  of  marriage  involved  loss  of  individuality, 
and  they  have  little  faith  in  men's  readiness  to  accept 
any  other  idea.  Men,  on  the  other  hand,  fear  to  marry 
because  the  "new  woman "  demands  so  much  for  herself — 
development,  a  career,  a  chance  to  work  out  her  own 
ideals  of  life.  The  man  sees  little  in  this  for  himself  but 
the  "second  fiddle"  which  woman  for  centuries  played 
to  his  first.  Ideal  marriages,  however,  do  take  place 
in  which  there  is  no  sacrifice  of  personality — in  which, 
indeed,  each  lives  a  fuller  life  than  would  have  been 
possible  without  the  marriage.  For  this  to  be  realized, 
there  must  be  full  recognition  of  the  responsibility  of 
each  for  his  or  her  own  deeds,  and  a  standing  aside  while 
each  works  out  his  destiny.  This  does  not  mean  a  sepa- 
ration of  interests  nor  an  abandonment  of  common 
counsel.  It  means  merely  that  in  individual  matters 
each  must  have  the  freedom  enjoyed  before  marriage 
took  place.  It  must  mean  for  women  some  sort  of 
economic  independence,  and  in  addition  a  spiritual 
independence  such  as  men  enjoy.  When  this  freedom  is 
cheerfully  given,  and  in  return  the  wife  gives  a  like  liberty 
to  the  husband,  the  great  incentive  to  concealments  and 
deceptions  or  to  nagging  and  controversy  is  removed. 
The  petty  annoyances  of  the  day  are  lessened,  trust  is 


Courtesy  of  George  Herbert  Palmer 

ALICE  FREEMAN  PALMER 

Mrs.  Palmer's  was  one  of  the  ideal  marriages  in  which  husband  and 
wife  each  lived  a  fuller  life  than  would  have  been  possible  without  the 
marriage.  Happy  in  her  home  life,  Mrs.  Palmer  yet  had  time  to 
achieve  a  brilliant  success  in  administrative  educational  work 


236  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

increased,  and  both  man  and  woman  find  their  strength 
increased  rather  than  depleted  by  the  relation. 

Common  interests  are  an  almost  certain  safeguard  in 
most  marriages.  Common  duties  are  more  often  than 
not  a  source  of  difficulty.  An  untold  number  of  matri- 
monial ventures  fail  because  of  inadequate  responsibility 
in  adjustment  of  expenses  to  income.  Many  more  are 
rendered  inharmonious  by  failure  of  parents  to  agree  as 
to  the  management  of  children.  In  both  these  directions 
increased  knowledge  will  do  much  to  secure  harmonious 
action.  Family  traditions  are  more  than  likely  to  clash 
when  they  are  adopted  as  principles  of  family  discipline. 
"Children  must  mind,"  says  the  father,  in  memory  and 
emulation  of  his  father's  method  with  him.  "Children 
must  not  be  coerced,"  says  the  mother,  who  has  been 
reared  by  a  different  method.  Clearly  a  course  in  child 
psychology  would  have  been  of  value  to  these  parents  in 
determining  a  common  procedure.  There  is  probably  no 
subject  upon  which  either  father  or  mother  finds  it  so 
hard  to  yield  to  the  other's  way  as  upon  this.  Each 
feels,  and  rightly,  that  the  material  to  be  trained  is  so 
precious,  and  that  failure,  if  it  comes,  will  be  so  stupen- 
dous, that  neither  dares  do  what  seems  wrong  to  his  own 
mind.  Nothing  but  common  knowledge  and  a  pre- 
determined policy  can  solve  this  problem  so  near  to  the 
root  of  success  or  failure  in  marriage  itself. 

Girls  are  commonly  taught  too  little  of  the  duties  of 
married  women  to  their  husbands.  They  look  for  a  life- 
time of  unalloyed  bliss.  If  they  fail  to  realize  their 
impossible  dream,  they  turn  their  faces  toward  the 
divorce  court.  Many  girls  have  had  too  smooth  a 
pathway,  too  little  of  responsibility,  and  too  little  of 
disappointment,  before  undertaking  the  serious  duty  of 
establishing  and  maintaining  a  lifelong  partnership. 


AMELIA  E.  BARR 


Photograph  by  Paul  Thompson 


Far  from  interfering  with  her  career,  Mrs.  Barr's 
the  inspiration  for  it.     Thrown  on  her  own  resources 
husband,  who  sacrificed  himself  in  a  yellow  l™ 
Mrs   Barr  took  up  writing  to  make  a  living  for  her 


_ 

the  ' 


238  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

There  has  been  little  in  their  lives  to  prepare  them  for 
long-continued  relations  of  any  sort.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  same  girls  have  equally  little  idea  of  what  they  liave 
a  right  to  expect  of  marriage  for  themselves.  Much  of 
the  necessary  adjustment  is  left  to  chance. 

Scarcely  any  phase  of  woman's  part  in  marriage  is 
arousing  more  attention  at  present  than  the  question  of 
childbearing.  "Women,  and  especially  educated  women, 
are  accused  of  sterility  or  of  intentionally  avoiding 
motherhood.  They  are  said  to  believe  that  children 
interfere  with  their  careers,  that  they  can  render  greater 
sen-ice  to  the  world  in  public  work  than  in  childbearing. 
They  "prefer  idleness  and  luxury  to  the  care  of  a  family." 
The  "maternal  instinct  is  fading."  They  threaten  us 
with  "race  suicide,"  the  "extinction  of  mankind,"  a 
silent  wTorld  given  over  to  dumb  beasts  who  have  not 
yet  learned  the  principles  of  "birth  control"  and  "family 
limitation."  Thus  on  the  one  hand. 

On  the  other:  "The  world  is  better  served  by  the  small 
family  well  reared  than  by  the  large  one  necessarily  less 
well  cared  for. "  "  Women  are  not  merely  the  instruments 
of  nature  for  multiplying  mankind.  They  have  a  right 
to  some  time  for  living  their  own  lives."  "The  maternal 
instinct  has  not  faded,  but  merely  come  under  control 
of  a  wisdom  which  directs  that  it  shall  not  bring  forth 
what  it  cannot  care  for." 

And  so  on,  with  added  arguments  for  either  side. 

In  all  these  discussions  of  birth  control  the  fathers  or 
the  husbands  who  desire  not  to  be  fathers  are  usually 
left  in  the  background.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  men 
as  well  as  women  desire  luxury  and  freedom  from  the  care 
of  a  family.  It  is  a  general  sign  of  the  times,  not  a 
characteristic  of  one  sex  alone.  Men  as  well  as  women 
fear  for  their  ability  to  care  for  and  educate  large  families. 


Marriage  239 

With  the  demands  of  our  present  complex  existence  bear- 
ing heavily  upon  them,  one  can  scarcely  wonder  at  the 
hesitation  of  either  man  or  woman  to  add  again  and 
again  to  their  already  pressing  cares.  There  is  but  one 
remedy — not  to  cut  off  education  for  women,  as  some 
suggest,  but  to  learn  the  joys  of  a  simpler  life  which  will 
afford  people  time  and  strength  and  means  to  bear  and 
rear  their  young.  To  this  end  let  us  teach  our  girls  and 
our  boys  something  of  the  essentials  of  a  useful  and  a 
happy  life,  and  teach  them  how  to  eliminate  the  non- 
essentials  which  waste  their  time  and  spirit. 

Who  can  best  instruct  the  girl  in  what  we  may  call 
the  ethics  of  marriage?  Her  mother?  Usually  the 
mother's  viewpoint  is  too  personal.  Her  teacher?  Most 
of  her  teachers  are  unmarried  and  know  little  more  about 
the  subject  than  she  does  herself.  A  specially  selected 
married  teacher?  Perhaps,  but  only  if  she  is  a  deep 
student  of  human  nature  and  of  marriage  from  a  scien- 
tific standpoint. 

An  ideal  course  for  every  girl  somewhere  before  her 
education  can  be  considered  complete  would  cover 
"woman's  life"  as  (i)  industrial  worker,  (2)  wife,  (3) 
mother,  (4)  citizen,  (5)  civic  force. 

Here,  without  undue  "dangling  of  the  wedding  ring," 
girls  might  study  marriage  as  an  important  phase  of 
woman's  life.  Such  a  course,  simplified  or  elaborated 
to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  girls  who  participate, 
might  well  be  given  in  all  girls'  schools  and  colleges,  in 
continuation  schools,  in  settlement-house  clubs  and  classes, 
in  rural  clubs  and  neighborhood  centers.  For,  reduced 
to  its  simplest  terms,  marriage  in  the  tenement  rests 
upon  the  same  principles  as  marriage  in  the  mansion. 

Happily  married,  or  happy  unmarried,  with  her  life 
work  stretching  before  her,  the  girl  enters  upon  her 


240  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

heritage  of  work.  We  have  trained  her  to  be  a  home- 
maker,  but  we  need  feel  no  regret  in  regard  to  her  training 
if  she  finds  her  life  work  in  an  office  or  a  schoolroom  or  a 
hospital.  She  may  never  "keep  house,"  although  we 
hope  that  she  will  some  time  help  to  make  a  home.  But, 
whether  she  becomes  a  homemaker  or  not,  a  true  under- 
standing and  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  home  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  principles  underlying  its  maintenance 
will  make  her  a  broader  woman  and  a  better  worker  than 
she  could  otherwise  be.  In  the  home,  or  wherever  she 
may  be,  she  cannot  fail  to  show  the  girls  who  are  growing 
up  about  her  what  home  means  to  her  and  what  it  means 
to  the  race.  And  in  her  hands  we  may  safely  leave  the 
future  of  the  home. 


SUGGESTED   READINGS 

GENERAL   BOOKS   WHICH    INTRODUCE  THE    READER  TO   THE 
LARGER    PHASES    OF    THE    WOMAN    MOVEMENT 

BRUERE,  MARTHA  B.  and  ROBERT  W.     Increasing  Home  Efficiency. 

New  York:  Macmillan. 
COLQUHOUN,    MRS.   A.     The    Vocations   of   Woman.     New   York: 

Macmillan. 
OILMAN,  CHARLOTTE  PERKINS.     Women  and  Economics.      Boston: 

Small,  Maynard  &  Co. 

KEY,  ELLEN.     Love  and  Marriage.     New  York:  Putnam. 
SCHREINER,  OLIVE.      Woman  and  Labor.      New  York:  Frederick  A. 

Stokes  Co. 

SPENCER,  ANNA  GARLIN.     The  Challenge  of  Womanhood. 
TARBELL,  IDA  M.     The  Business  of  Being  a  Woman.     New  York: 

Macmillan. 

Some  of  these  books  are  conservative,  others  very  radical. 
They  are  recommended,  not  because  the  writer  agrees  with  them, 
but  because  every  mother  and  teacher  who  acts  as  a  vocational 
counselor  should  know  both  conservative  and  radical  points  of  view. 

MORE    DISTINCTLY    VOCATIONAL   BOOKS 

BLOOMFIELD,  MEYER.     Readings  in  Vocational  Guidance.     Boston: 
Ginn  &  Co. 

The  following  articles  in  this  book  are  especially  recom- 
mended : 
"The  Value,  during  Education,  of  the  Life-Career  Motive." 

By  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT. 
"Selecting  Young  Men  for  Particular  Jobs."     By  HERMAN 

SCHNEIDER. 
"The  Permanence  of  Interests  and  Their  Relation  to  Abilities." 

By  EDWARD  L.  THORNDIKE. 
'*  Survey  of  Occupations  Open  to  the  Girl  of  Fourteen  to  Sixteen 

Years  of  Age."     By  HARRIET  HAZEN  DODGE. 
BREWER,    J.     M.     Vocational-Guidance    Movement.     New    York: 

Macmillan. 

BREWSTER,   EDWIN  T.     Vocational  Guidance  for  the  Professions. 
Chicago:  Rand  McNally  &  Co. 

241 


242  Vocational  Guidance  for  Girls 

BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION,  Washington,  D.C. 

Bulletin  1013,  No.  17.     "A  Trade  School  for  Girls." 
Bulletin  1014,  No.  4.     "The  School  and  a  Start  in  Life." 
Bulletin  1914,   No.  14.     "Vocational  Guidance  Association." 
Papers  presented  at  the  organization  meeting,  October,  1913. 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education: 
1911,  chapter  viii,  "A  School  for  Homemakers." 

1914,  chapter  xiii,  "Education  for  the  Home." 

1915,  chapter  xii,  "Home  Economics." 

1915,  chapter  xiv,  "Home  Education." 

1916,  chapter  xvii,  "Education  in  the  Home." 

BUTLER,  ELIZABETH  BEARDSLEY.     Women  and  the  Trades.     New- 
York:  Charities  Publication  Committee. 

.     Saleswomen  in  Mercantile  Stores.     New  York:  Survey 

Associates. 

DAVIS,  JESSE  BUTTRICK.     Vocational  and  Moral  Guidance.     Boston: 
Ginn  &  Co. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCE  AND  LABOR,  Washington,  D.C.: 
Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

Contains  nineteen  volumes  on  "Condition  of  Women  and 
Child  Wage-Earners  in  the  United  States."    The  most  compre- 
hensive study  of  conditions  of  women  in  industry  before  the  war. 
Bulletin  No.  175.     "Summary  of  the  Report  on  the  Condition 
of  Women  and  Child  Wage- Earners  in  the  United  States." 
Gives  in  condensed  form  the  findings  in  the  nineteen  volumes. 

GOWIN  and  WHEATLEY.     Occupations.     Boston :  Ginn  &  Co. 

HOLLINGWORTH,  H.  L.      Vocational  Psychology:     Its  Problems  and 
Methods.     New  York:  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

LASELLE    and    WILEY.     Vocations  for   Girls.    Boston:     Houghton 
Mifflin  Co. 

LEAKE,  ALBERT  H.     The  Vocational  Education  of  Girls  and  Women. 
New  York:  Macmillan. 

McKEEVER,  A.     Training  the  Girl.     New  York:  Macmillan. 

PRESSEY,     C.     PARK.     A      Vocational     Reader.     Chicago:     Rand 
McNally  &  Co. 

This  book  shows  the  teacher  the  kind  of  stories  that  can  be 
used  for  inspiration  for  grade-school  girls. 

PUFFER,     J.     ADAMS.      Vocational    Guidance.      Chicago:      Rand 
McNally  &  Co. 

WOMEN'S  EDUCATIONAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  UNION  OF  BOSTON: 
Vocations  for  the  Trained  Woman. 
The  Public  Schools  and  Women  in  Office  Service. 


THE   INDEX 


Acting    as    a    preparation    for 

homemaking,  201 
Adolescent    girl,    130-150.     See 

also  Girl 
Agriculture,  possibilities  in  and 

qualifications  for,    173  ft. 
Arithmetic  applied  to  household 

problems,    H4ff. 
Art    courses    as    education    for 

homemaking,  40,   1 1 8  f . 
Artist,  work  of,  as  a  preparation 

for  homemaking,  201 
Arts  and  crafts,  possibilities  in 

and  qualifications  for,   173 
Auburn,    Washington,    Central 

School,  manual  arts  courses 

in,   119 

Bibliography,  241  f. 

Bruere,  Martha  B.,  quoted,  18, 

51  ^ 

Budgets,  50  ff. 
Building  problems,  32  ff. 

Census,      statistics      regarding 
women    in    industry,    151, 

152,  153,  154 
Chapin,  Dr.,  quoted,  50  f. 
Child: 

imitative  instinct  as  influen- 
cing training  of,  90,   102 

training  for  habits  of  indus- 
try, 96  ff . 

training  for  self-control,  93  ff . 

training  for  sympathy,   90  f. 

training  for  unselfishness,  95  f . 

training  the  little,  86-101 
Church: 

as  a  means  of  betterment  in 
the  community,  67 

girl  influenced  by,  84  f . 

homemaking  as  influenced  by, 
84  f. 

women  and  the,  67 


Citizenship,    woman   and,    71  f. 
Clothing  (see  also  Dress): 
problems    of,    in    the    home, 

57  ff- 
problems  of,  for  the  adolescent 

girl,  139  ff.,  147  f. 
Community : 

church  as  a  means  of  better- 
ment in,  67 
home,  relation  between,  and, 

62  ff. 
working  women,  relation  to, 

157  ff. 

Consolidated  school,  no 
Continuation    schools,    179  f. 
Cooking    classes    in    grammar 

schools,    nof. 

Decoration  of  the  home,  40 
Department  stores: 

continuation  schools  in,  179  f. 
statistics    concerning    women 

employed  in,  180 
Dietetics,  knowledge  of,  neces- 
sary   to    the    homemaker, 

54  ff- 

Divorce,  dangers  of,  82,  218,  220 
Doll's    house    as    a    means    of 
teaching  the  child  mechan- 
ics  of   housekeeping,    102- 
121 
Domestic  work: 

as   a   preparation   for   home- 
making,   196  f. 

as  a  vocation,  possibilities  in 
and  qualifications  for,  185  f. 
Dress  (see  also  Clothing) : 

principles  of  selection,  for  the 

adolescent  girl,    I39ff. 
problems  of,  for  the  adolescent 

girl,   I39ff-,   147*. 
Dressmaking,  possibilities  in  and 
qualifications  for,  171  f. 


243 


244 


The  Index 


Education : 

for  homemaking,  25  f. 

of  women,  effect  on  home  life, 

8ff. 

Educational  agencies  involved 
in  "woman  making,"  75- 
85 

Eugenics  as  influencing  mar- 
riage, 230 

Factory  work: 

as   a   preparation   for   home- 
making,  200  f . 

possibilities  in  and  qualifica- 
tions for,  1 70  f . 
Father,    characteristics    of    the 

ideal,  23  f. 
Feeding  problems  in  the  home, 

53  ff- 
Financial   knowledge   necessary 

for  homemaking,  49  ff. 
Food     production,     possibilities 

in    and    qualifications    for 

work  in,   175  ff. 
Food    questions,    study    of,    in 

schools,   118 

Frederick,  Airs.,  quoted,  18 
Furniture,  principles  governing 

selection  of,  42 

Games,    training    afforded    by, 

I23ff. 

Geography  applied  to  household 

problems,  116 
Gilman,       Charlotte       Perkins, 

quoted,  56 
Girl: 

adolescent,    130-150 
church's  influence  upon,  84  ff. 
dress  problems  of  the  adoles- 
cent, 139  ff.,  147  f. 
educational  agencies  involved 

in  training  the,  75-85 
health  of  adolescent,  methods 

of  safeguarding,    130  ff. 
inner  life  of,  122-129 
plan  for  training   adolescent, 

136  ff. 
school   center   of   society   of, 

129  ff.,  143  ff. 


teaching    the    mechanics    of 
housekeeping  to,    102-121 

work  of,  151-217 
Grammar  school,  part  played  in 
vocational  guidance,  204  ff. 


Hall,  G.  Stanley,  quoted,  76 
Handwork,      classification      of, 

I7off. 

Health  of  adolescent  girl, 
methods  of  safeguarding, 
130  ff. 

Heating  apparatus,  35  f. 
High    school,    part    played    in 
vocational  guidance,  211  ff. 
Home: 

as   a   means   of   training   for 
homemaking,  81  ff. 

building  problems  in,  32  ff. 

clothing  problems  in,  57  ff. 

community,  relation  to.  (• 

decoration  of,  40 

establishing  a,  27-48 

feeding   problems  in,   53  ff. 

furniture,    principles   govern- 
ing selection  of,  42 

heating  problems  in,  35  f. 

income  in,  apportionment  of, 
50  ff. 

industrial    revolution,     effect 
of,  on,  7  ff. 

industries  in,  12  ff. 

labor-saving  devices  in,  44  ff. 

running  the  domestic  machin- 
ery, 49-72 

servant  question  in,  44  ff. 

site  for,  selection  of,  31  f. 

the  ideal,  18-26 

urban  conditions  as  affecting, 
10  f. 

waste  disposal  in,  37  ff. 

water  supply  in,  36  f. 

women,  effect  of  education  of, 

on,  8  ff. 
Homemaking : 

community  problems  in  coun- 
try and  city  affecting,  28,  30 

dietetics,  knowledge  of,  neces- 
sary to,  54  ff. 

education  for,  25  f. 


The  Index 


245 


educational  agencies  involved 

in  training  for,  75-85 
financial  knowledge  necessary 

for,   49  ff. 
home's   influence   in   training 

for,  8 1  ff. 
tasks   suitable  for  the   small 

child,   109 
teacher's      responsibility      in 

training  for,  78,  80  f. 
the  real  business  of  woman, 

14  ff. 
vocations   as   affecting,    194- 

202    (see    also   the    specific 

vocations) 
Home  work,  school  credit  for, 

105  ff. 
Housekeeping: 

tasks  suitable  for  the  small 

child,    109 
teaching    the    mechanics    of, 

T02-I2I 

H^       ne,  study  of,  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  homemaking,    120 

Income,  apportionment  of,  50  ff. 
Industrial  revolution,  effects  of, 

on  home  life,  7  ff. 
Industries  (see  also  Vocations): 
in  the  home,  12  ff. 
women   in,    Census   statistics 
concerning,    151,    152,    153, 

154 

women's  wage  statistics,   160 
Industry,     teaching    the    child 

habits  of,  96  ff. 
Imitation,  evils  of,  59  f . 
Imitative  instinct,  influence  of, 

in  training  the  child,  90,  102 

Labor-saving     devices     in     the 

home,  44  ff. 
Leominster,     Massachusetts,    a 

school   lunch   room,    in 
Library    work,    possibilities    in 

and  qualifications  for,  189  f. 
Literary  work  as  a  preparation 

for  homemaking,  201 

Marriage,  218-240 

age  of,  for  women,  152,  219  f. 


factors  influencing,  226  f. 
ideals  of,  226  f. 

Massachusetts    plan    of    school 

credit  for  home  work,   106 

Millinery,    possibilities    in    and 

qualifications  for,  172 
Montclair,    New  Jersey,   school 

lunchroom,  1 1 1 

Montessori  materials  as  means 
of  teaching  habits  of  indus- 
try, 98 

Mother  (see  also  Woman) : 
characteristics    of    the    ideal, 

21  ff. 

community  institutions,  rela- 
tion to,  65  ff. 
school,  duty  to,  65  ff. 

Nearing,  Scott,  quoted,  18 
Newark,    New   Jersey,    Central 

High  School,  lunch  room  in, 

in 
New  York  City,  Public  School 

No.  7,  model  school  home, 

H3 

Nursing: 

as  a  preparation  for  home- 
making,  197  ff. 

;  Dssibilities  in  and  qualifica- 
tions for,  190  f. 

Occupations.  See  Vocations ; 
see  also  the  specific  occupa- 
tions 

Office  work: 

as  a  preparation  for  home- 
making,  199 

possibilities  in  and  qualifi- 
cations for,  1 80  ff . 

Oppenheim,  quoted,   120 

Oregon  plan  of  school  credit 
for  home  work,  106 

Physiology,  study  of,  as  prepara- 
tion for  homemaking,  120 
Puffer,  J.Adams,  quoted,  152,155 

Reading  for  the  adolescent  girl, 

146  f. 
Reform,  woman's  opportunities 

in,  68,  70  f. 


246 


The  Index 


Salesmanship : 

as  a  preparation  for  home- 
making,  200 

possibilities  in  and  qualifica- 
tions for,  1 78  ff . 
School: 

art  courses  contributing  to 
homemaking  knowledge, 
ii8f. 

consolidated,  no 
continuation,  i/9f. 
cooking  classes  in,  no  f. 
homemaking,    duty    to    edu- 
cate for,  35,  47  f.,  76  ff . 
mothers'  relation  to,  65  ff. 
sewing    classes    in    grammar, 

no,  in  f. 

vocational  guidance,  responsi- 
bility in,  i67ff.,2O4ff.,2ii  ff. 
School   credit   for   home    work, 

I05ff. 

School  gardens,  108 
Schreiner,  Olive,  quoted,  152 
Servant  question,  44  ff . 
Sewing     classes     in     grammar 

schools,  no,  in  f. 
Sex   knowledge,   instruction   in, 

80,   128,    148  ff. 
Social  work,  possibilities  in  ~nd 

qualifications  for,    191  ff. 
Society : 

school  and  playground  center 

of  girls',  126  ff.,  143  ff. 
woman's  place  in,  3-17 
Suffrage,  71 

Tarbell,  Ida  M.,  quoted,  15 
Teacher: 

as  a  vocational  guide,  167  ff., 

204  ff.,  211  ff. 

homemaking,  responsibility  of, 
in  training  for,  75  ff .,  78,  80 f. 
Teaching: 

as   a   preparation   for   home- 
making,    197  ff. 
possibilities  in  and  qualifica- 
tions for,  1 88  f. 

Urban    conditions    as    affecting 
home  life,  10  f. 


'Vocational  guidance: 

considerations        in,     163  ff., 
194  ff. 

grammar    school's    part    in, 

204  ff. 

high  school's  part  in,  211  ff. 
need  for,   161  f. 
object  of,  216 
school's  part  in,  167  ff.,  204  ff., 

211  ff. 
teacher's     part     in,      167  ff., 

204  ff.,   211  ff. 
Vocations  (see  also  the  specific 

vocations) : 
as  affecting  homemaking,  194- 

202 

choice   of,    considerations   in, 

163  ff.,   194  ff. 
classification  of,  163-193 
determined  by  training,  203- 

217 

distributing  group,  178-183 
producing  group,   169-177 
service  group,  184-193 


Wage  statistics,  160 
Ward,  Lester  F.,  quoted,  15 
Waste  disposal,  37  ff. 
Water  supply,  36  f . 
Womanhood,  present-day  ideals 

of,  1-72 

Woman  (see  also  Mother): 
and  citizenship,  71  f. 
as  buyer,  70  f. 
church,  relation  to,  67 
community's  relation  to  work- 
ing,   157  ff. 
education  of,  effect  on  home 

life,  8ff. 
in  industry,  Census  statistics, 

151,  152,  153,  154 
marriage  age  152,  219  f. 
reform,  opportunities  in,   68, 

70  f. 

society,  place  in,  3-17 
status   of,   views   concerning, 

5f- 

the  real  business  of,  14  ff. 
wage  statistics,  1 60 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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MAY   12  1934 


MAY    14  1934 

e 


\ 


AUG  ix 


JUL 


DEC  2  ?. 


Wfr 


HETfr 


T,r>  2i-inn«-7  'a  a 


OJU7I 


463303 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


